Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Four
by ahowell1993
Summary: Sequel to LTATPB1, LTATPB2, and LTATPB3. Spencer's and Olivia's family of five grows to six, and while their family grows they have to deal with a few bumps in the road while knowing that they will get through everything together since the good times always help outweigh the bad times. Takes place during pre-season 11 to season 12's episode A Good Husband with an AU twist.
1. A Big Surprise

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: This is the sequel to Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three. So if you haven't read Love Takes Away the Pain: Book One, Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Two, and Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three first please go read those three stories first in that order before you start to read this story._

 _This starts seven weeks after the ending of chapter 56 of Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three so it's Saturday August 8th of 2015 in the beginning of this chapter._

 _Sorry that this chapter is short, but I promise that the next one will be longer since it will include Baby Michael and Dr. Tara Lewis will appear._

* * *

Spencer was brushing his teeth when Olivia rushed into the bathroom and vomited into the toilet, causing Spencer to stop what he was doing and hold his wife's hair. During the next few minutes he was running through the symptoms his wife was dealing with before looking at Olivia who was brushing her teeth.

"I take it you haven't realized that you're possibly pregnant since you've been tired and nauseous lately." teased Spencer.

Olivia looked at her husband with wide eyes before she started grinning.

"I was thinking the same thing since I've noticed that my clothes have been a bit tighter, but this is the first time I'm dealing with morning sickness." said Olivia as she rested her hands on her belly and noticed the slight bump causing her to grab a pregnancy test that she had stored in the bathroom, "Let me quickly do this so we can find out." said Olivia as she shooed her husband out of the bathroom.

Over five minutes later Spencer and Olivia were grinning when they saw the pregnancy test saying PREGNANT.

"This is great." grinned Spencer.

"I'm happy." said Olivia as tears streamed down her face.

"When was your last period?" asked Spencer.

Olivia quickly calculated the days before giving the date.

"We conceived Baby Reid the night that we had the house to ourselves." said Spencer as he knelt down and rested his hands on Olivia's belly, "Daddy loves you so much. Just continue to grow big and strong, and in about seven months you will get to meet your family." said Spencer before he got up and wiped the tears that were already streaming down Olivia's face.

"I should call Dr. Carter and get me in for Monday to confirm the pregnancy." said Olivia as she grabbed her cellphone, and a few minutes later Olivia grinned at her husband, "Dr. Carter's on call today, and she's willing to see me in two hours."

"Can I come?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Olivia.

* * *

Two and a half hours later Dr. Carter entered the room with the test results.

"You're definitely pregnant, Olivia." smiled Dr. Carter.

Spencer and Olivia grinned before kissing each other on the lips.

"Should there be any complications due to the ectopic pregnancy I dealt with last year?" asked Olivia.

"Not at all since you're young and healthy, but right now I want to do a transvaginal ultrasound to see how Baby Reid is developing." said Dr. Carter.

10 minutes later Spencer and Olivia allowed happy tears to fall when they heard the baby's heartbeat, and when the ultrasound was finished she smiled at the young couple.

"Based on the measurements and the information you gave me, you're going to be due on March 26th of next year." said Dr. Carter.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"I was right about the date we conceived Baby Reid." said Spencer.

Dr. Carter looked at the young couple.

"Any new pictures or videos of Piper, Albert, and Ava you two would love to show me?" asked Dr. Carter.

Spencer pulled out his phone and showed Dr. Carter some new pictures.

"Piper started gymnastics in January, and she's already excelling since she's in the advanced age group for three and four year olds." said Spencer as he showed Dr. Carter a video he made of Piper.

Dr. Carter watched the two minute long video and smiled when Piper giving her coach a high five at the end.

"It seems like you two have a gymnastics prodigy in your hands." said Dr. Carter before she saw a picture of all three kids together, "I just can't believe that Piper is finally three years old while Albert and Ava are finally two." said Dr. Carter as she noticed how big the kids were getting.

"I know." said Spencer.

Dr. Carter looked at Olivia.

"You two should get on with your Saturday plans with the kids, and I want to see you in four weeks." said Dr. Carter.

"Yes ma'am." said Olivia.

"Congratulations again you two." said Dr. Carter as a scheduler came into the room to schedule Olivia's next appointment.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer and Olivia entered the house to see William sitting in the living room watching TV.

"Where are the kids?" asked Spencer.

"I just put them down for a nap 10 minutes ago." said William as he noticed the happiness that was radiating from his son and daughter in law, "I take it that the errand that you two went on was successful?"

"You're getting another grandchild." said a grinning Olivia.

"That's great." said William as he got off the couch and hugged his son and daughter in law.

"I just wonder if we should tell the kids yet or wait a few weeks?" asked Olivia.

"Better they know sooner due to the morning sickness you're already dealing with." said Spencer.

"Then let's tell the kids when they wake up." said Olivia.

"And I will tell my teammates on Monday, but I think I will call Alex right now." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and called Alex.

"Hey Spencer." said Alex.

"Hi Alex." said Spencer.

"So what are you calling me for?" asked Alex.

"I'm going to be a dad again since Olivia's eight weeks pregnant." said Spencer.

"That's great." said Alex.

"I know." said Spencer.

"When did you find out?" asked Alex.

"This morning since Olivia was dealing with morning sickness, and after she took a pregnancy test she called Dr. Carter who was actually on call today so we got to see the baby and hear the heartbeat." said Spencer.

"So you're telling everyone else on Monday?" asked Alex.

"I have to since I'm working with profilers." said Spencer and he and Alex updated each other on their lives before hanging up.

* * *

Later that evening, Spencer and Olivia sat Piper, Albert, and Ava on the couch.

"Mommy and I need to talk to you three munchkins." said Spencer.

"Are we in trouble?" asked Piper.

"No, but you know how Auntie JJ is carrying a baby right now?" asked Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all nodded before Piper looked at her mommy's belly.

"You got a baby in your tummy?" asked Piper.

"I'm carrying your little brother and sister, and he or she will be here by the end of March since I will be carrying him or her for about seven more months." said Olivia.

"That's a long time." said Piper.

"It is, but so there will be times that I will be tired, cranky, or forget to do something but you guys will be excited about getting to hold your little brother or sister." said Olivia.

"So are you guys happy about having another sibling to play with?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Piper.

"Yes." said Albert.

"Yes." said Ava.

At that moment Piper got up, walked over to her mommy and rested her hand on her belly.

"Hi my name is Piper, and I'm your big sister. I can't wait to meet you." said Piper.

Spencer and Olivia looked at each other with happy tears streaming down their faces, causing Albert to look at his parents.

"Why you two cwying?" asked Albert.

"These are happy tears buddy." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at her son.

"So are you hoping for a little brother or another sister?" asked Olivia.

"Broter." said Albert.

"We will have to wait over a month to find out." said Spencer as Piper, Albert, and Ava started talking about what they want to do with their new sibling once the baby is born.

* * *

Two days later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table with JJ, Hotch, Morgan, Garcia, and Rossi when Spencer looked at Garcia.

"Before you start briefing, may I tell you guys some news?" asked Spencer as he kept his face neutral.

"Go ahead." said Hotch as he thought about Olivia's behavior the past few weeks.

"At the end of February or in March I will need to take paternity leave again since Olivia's eight weeks pregnant." said Spencer with a wide smile on his face.

Hotch, JJ, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi all got up and either hugged him, patted him on the back, or in Rossi's case, kissed him on both cheeks.

"I will make sure you take some time off Reid." said Hotch as he hugged his youngest agent, "And how did Piper, Albert, and Ava take the news?"

"They are very excited, and Albert wants a little brother while Piper and Ava want another sister." laughed Spencer

"Have you told Emily yet?" asked Garcia.

"We told her last night when I Skyped with her, and my aunt, uncle, and cousin already know." grinned Spencer.

"What about your mom?" asked JJ as she rested her hands on her nearly eight month pregnant belly.

"She was having an episode so I couldn't tell her the news, but I'm planning on calling her tonight since her doctor said that I should try." said Spencer.

"When did you find out?" asked Garcia.

"I actually voiced my opinion to Olivia on Saturday morning since she showed morning sickness for the first time, and a few hours later we were able to see her doctor, who confirmed the pregnancy for us." said Spencer as he pulled out the ultrasound photo that he brought in and showed it to his teammates.

Hotch looked at Garcia.

"Please start briefing." said Hotch.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"It seems like you get to go tell your mom the news in person since you guys are heading to Las Vegas, Nevada." said Garcia as she started explaining the case.

15 minutes later Spencer was calling Olivia.

"You have a case?" asked Olivia.

"Las Vegas, Nevada." said Spencer.

"It's a bummer that dad, the kids, and I can't come with." said Olivia.

"I know, but we're already planning on going to Vegas for Thanksgiving." said Spencer.

"Do you have time to talk to the kids?" asked Olivia.

"Heading to the jet in five minutes, but I promise to call tonight." said Spencer.

"You know the rules about staying safe." said Olivia.

"I know, and I have to get going." said Spencer.

"I love you." said Olivia.

"I love you too." said Spencer before hanging up.

* * *

Over five hours later Spencer and Hotch entered the station where Detective Benjamin Peterson approached them.

"I wish I could see you again under better circumstances, Spencer." said Detective Peterson as he gave Spencer a manly hug.

"Me too." said Spencer before looking at Benjamin, "You should remember my boss, Aaron Hotchner."

"I sure do." said Benjamin.

Benjamin started giving Spencer and Hotch updates on what he found out during the past four hours, and a few minutes later Spencer was at the coffee pot with Benjamin.

"How are your wife and kids?" asked Benjamin.

"They're doing great, and Olivia's eight weeks pregnant with our fourth child." said Spencer as he showed his former classmate a picture that was taken at Piper's birthday party.

"Congratulations Spencer." said Benjamin as he gave Spencer another manly hug before both former classmates decided to focus on the case.

* * *

Two days later Spencer entered Bennington Sanitarium, and he approached Dr. Jesson who was talking to a nurse. Dr. Jesson looked at Spencer.

"I appreciate you calling ahead, and your mom's having a good day." said Dr. Jesson.

"I can only visit for two hours since I'm flying back to DC in two and a half hours." said Spencer.

"Right now your mom's in her room." said Dr. Jesson.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing in the doorway of his mother's room and watched his mom reading a book before he knocked on the open doorway. Diana looked up a few seconds later.

"You never mentioned about coming to visit, Spencer." said Diana as she got up to hug her son.

"I'm in town for work, and I can only visit for two hours." said Spencer as he embraced his mother tightly.

A minute later Spencer was sitting on his mother's bed with her, and Diana looked at her son.

"You definitely look happy right now." said Diana.

"I'm happy because of this." said Spencer as he pulled an ultrasound photo out of his messenger bag.

"I'm a grandma again?" asked Diana.

"Olivia's eight weeks pregnant." said Spencer.

"Wonderful." said Diana as she hugged her son much tighter than before, "How's Olivia doing?"

"Even though we just found out on Saturday, she's already cursing me for getting her pregnant again. And Dr. Carter believes that there should be no complications at all since it's been over a year since the ectopic pregnancy." said Spencer as his cellphone vibrated and he saw a text from Olivia, "Piper wants to Skype right now."

"I need to see my grandchildren." said Diana as she thought about the few times she forgot that she was a grandma.

Two minutes later Spencer was holding his tablet in front of his mom and himself, and Diana was smiling when Piper, Albert, and Ava excitedly greeted their grandma before Diana read for a few minutes.

* * *

Later that night Spencer was sitting in bed with Olivia, and Olivia looked at her husband.

"How did your mom handle your visit?" asked Olivia.

"She's excited about becoming a grandma again, and there was a few times that she seemed a bit confused for a second or two, but otherwise the visit went well." said Spencer.

"What did her doctor say about the moments of confusion?" asked Olivia as she rubbed her husband's arm.

"Right now they are going to be monitoring her a bit more, and if she's not improving we might need to plan on going to Vegas a bit sooner before Thanksgiving." said Spencer as he didn't even realize that what he said was going to happen.

Olivia yawned, and Spencer looked at his wife.

"We both need some sleep since you're pregnant, and I had to pull an all-nighter last night." said Spencer as he slipped his glasses off and set them on the nightstand.

10 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were fast asleep in their favorite position.


	2. Michael, Fourth Anniversary, & The Job

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to Hippichic81, tannerose5, Chermayne, OhSnapItsMadison, Jasmine, and snowdrop65 for reviewing chapter 1 and also a shout out to everyone who decided to follow or favorite this story._

 _Jasmine: I already have the gender and name planned out, and the name will be revealed in the next chapter since part of the chapter will deal with Spencer's 34th birthday._

 _I'm excited that season 12 is finally on Netflix, but I'm still planning on buying the season 12 DVD set since there are features like gag reels that I like to watch. And I'm planning that this story goes up to A Good Husband in season 12 due to the plans I have for this story._

 _This takes place in the beginning of September so it's now September 7th of 2015, and with the suit that Spencer wore in The Job, you readers will find out when Spencer got it that he wore in The Job._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia stood in JJ's hospital room, and JJ looked at Spencer.

"Would you like to hold Michael?" asked JJ.

"Sure." said Spencer as he gently took Michael from JJ and he looked down at his new godson, "I'm your godfather, and I can easily get you into Cal-tech with just one phone call like your big brother Henry." said Spencer as JJ took a picture of him holding Michael before he passed the newborn baby boy to his wife.

"Hey there Michael. You are going to have a lot of playmates since your godfather and I have three kids and another on the way right now." said Olivia before she passed Michael to JJ, "We have to get going since I have my 12 week ultrasound in an hour."

"Thank you guys for coming." said JJ.

"As soon as you're out of here, I will bring the kids over to your house to meet Michael when Spencer's at work." said Olivia.

"That would be nice." said JJ.

* * *

90 minutes later Olivia was laying on the ultrasound table, and Dr. Carter looked at Spencer and Olivia.

"Do you want to see if you can find out the gender Spencer?" asked Dr. Carter.

"We want to wait a bit longer since we're planning on doing the gender reveal at my birthday dinner next month, but we're still planning on how we can reveal the gender without either of us knowing." said Spencer.

Dr. Carter looked at Olivia.

"You know the drill about seeing you at 16 weeks pregnant, but for now you two brainstorm on how you want to find out the gender." said Dr. Carter.

"OK." said Olivia.

* * *

Later that night when the kids were asleep, Olivia pounced on her husband.

"You looked so hot holding baby Michael, and I can't wait to see you holding our little one." said Olivia as she quickly unbuttoned her husband's dress shirt.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were making out passionately in their bed.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was putting some extra sugar in his coffee when a smirking Morgan looked at him and noticed the slight love bite underneath Spencer's collar..

"Your three month pregnant wife wouldn't let you go to sleep last night?" asked a teasing Morgan, "You should tell Olivia to aim lower next time."

Spencer's face reddened a bit just as Hotch came over and joined them.

"Stop teasing Reid." said Hotch.

Spencer smirked.

"Garcia mentioned that you better be next to add on to the second generation of this BAU family." teased Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Nice one." said Hotch as he held out his fist for a fist bump that Spencer got right.

* * *

Two days later Olivia entered JJ's house with Piper, Albert, and Ava when Henry ran over to Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Piper, Albert, and Ava meeting my baby brother?" asked six year old Henry.

"They are Henry." said Olivia just as JJ came down the stairs with Michael.

JJ smiled at her goddaughter who was watching her with interest, and a minute later she was sitting on the couch with Piper next to her and Albert and Ava standing by JJ's feet as they looked at the baby boy.

"Would you like to hold Michael?" asked JJ.

"Yes." said Piper.

JJ gently placed Michael in Piper's arms while supporting Michael's head, and less than a minute later Olivia was taking a picture of Piper, Albert, and Ava all looking at baby Michael with interest.

"You're going to be holding your baby brother or sister next February or March Piper." said JJ.

"I can't wait." said Piper.

* * *

Over two and a half weeks later Spencer and Olivia were sitting in their favorite Italian restaurant, and Spencer looked at Olivia.

"I just can't believe that we've been married for four years." said Spencer as he took a sip of his sparkling grape juice.

"I know, and I can't believe that we already have three kids and a fourth on the way during this anniversary." said Olivia as she also took a sip of her sparkling grape juice.

A minute later their waitress came with their food.

"How far are you?" asked the waitress as she noticed Olivia's slight baby bump.

"I will be 15 weeks this Saturday." said Olivia.

"Congratulations, and do you have any other kids?" asked the waitress as she thought about the mention that the young couple is celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary.

"A three year old daughter and two year old twins, a boy and a girl, and they're all excited about getting another sibling." said Olivia.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer was opening up his gift, and he gasped when he saw a new suit with a new linen dress shirt and silk tie.

"Linen and silk are some of the traditional gifts for the fourth wedding anniversary." said Olivia.

"Let me try this on." said Spencer as he took the suit to the bathroom.

A few minutes later Olivia let out a loud wolf whistle at the sight of her husband in his new fitted suit.

"I definitely did good." said Olivia.

"I will wear it to work next Monday." said Spencer as he grabbed his gift for Olivia who gasped at the blue topaz earrings.

"I love the earrings." said Olivia before smirking at her husband, "I have a silk surprise under my dress right now, so I suggest that you quickly get out of your brand new suit before it gets ruined."

Spencer quickly removed his new suit before helping Olivia undress before they fell onto the bed making out.

* * *

The following Monday, Spencer was eating breakfast with his family, and Piper looked at her mommy.

"How far are you now with my baby brother or sister?" asked Piper.

"I'm 15 weeks sweet pea, and next week when we have daddy's birthday dinner we're going to find out if you're getting another brother or sister." said Olivia.

"Yay!" chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at his desk in the bullpen reading one of his books when he saw Hotch and Garcia walking towards the conference room, causing him to get up and head towards the conference room where Rossi and Morgan already were.

"Is it the same unsub?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah." said Rossi just as Hotch and Garcia entered the room.

"Two kills on two coasts in two days. This guy's on a mission. He's not gonna rest until he completes it." said Morgan.

"Then neither will we." said Hotch.

"But we're down two profilers." said Garcia.

"Our 5 brains against his one. My money's still on us." said Rossi.

"Let's get to work." said Hotch as everyone sat down and started going through their files.

* * *

"We know for a fact that victim number one was bound and gagged, but it doesn't look like number two was." said Morgan.

"Windows in both residences were tampered with, so he knows how to get in and out undetected." said Spencer.

"Ok, that's impressive because aluminum foil is super crinkly." said Garcia and was given looks by Spencer, Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi, "I'm sorry, I'm not a profiler, I'm doing my best."

"No, it's a fair point. He snuck up on a tweaker who probably hadn't slept in a couple of days. M.O. said this guy's good at hunting." said Rossi.

"Cause of death?" asked Hotch.

"Cardiac arrest, but Dr. Mertz in the crime lab can't pin down how." said Morgan.

"He might hide it under the face paint. What we're assuming is ritual could be a forensic countermeasure." said Hotch.

"What do we know about the face paint?" asked Rossi.

"Traditional greasepaint used by clowns, but applied to resemble a pulcinella." said Spencer as his teammates looked at him.

"Oh, I totally know what that is, but I'm gonna Google it in case someone else doesn't." said Garcia as she started typing on her phone.

"Sorry. The clown archetype that we recognize today actually leads back to a 16th Century stage tradition called commedia Dell'arte, where actors wore masks to resemble their characters. The pulcinella was the trickster character, usually without a voice. He used a horn to make funny noises." said Spencer as Hotch, Morgan, Rossi, and Garcia realized that they were going to miss him when he goes on paternity leave after Baby Reid is born.

"Maybe the victims tricked him and he's remaking them in death how he saw them in life." said Rossi.

"So this is a vendetta by the unsub and not a compulsion." said Hotch as his cellphone vibrated causing him to notice a call from JJ.

"It's gonna make this guy really hard to profile." said Morgan.

"All right, Dave, keep working victimology. Morgan, stay on the M.O. and, Reid, did deeper into the ritual. I'll be right back." said Hotch before leaving the room.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"I'm definitely going to miss you when you go on paternity leave when Baby Reid is born next year." said Rossi.

"I know, but Olivia and I agreed on having one more child and with Piper being three and Albert and Ava being two we agreed that we're ready." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer was slightly pacing in the bullpen as he and Rossi worked by Spencer's desk.

"Well, this doesn't clear up much. Vic number one was a divorced dad who got custody of his kids." said Rossi.

"And number two was the local drug supplier." said Spencer.

"So if the question is, what connects these two guys, the answer is, nothing." said Rossi.

"And we never would have made the connection if it weren't for the face paint. Which begs the question, why do it at all?" asked Spencer.

"To taunt us, feel superior." said Rossi.

"It's obviously a message," said Spencer as he grabbed a book off his desk, "and my assumption is that it has something to do with the mouth, 'cause look at this." said Spencer as he opened his book to a certain page, "The colors of the pulcinella are oddly inverted. Traditionally the character has a black face but a white jaw. He's painting it the other way around." said Spencer as he pointed the picture.

"You said that this character was the precursor to today's clown because he couldn't speak, right?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, that's right." said Spencer as Rossi walked to the clear board that they set up.

"So, he was also the first mime, too." said Spencer.

"Very much so. Which means..." said Spencer as he realized what they unsub probably had, "Oh! OH!"

A short while later Spencer was in the conference room with his teammates.

"He has a feeding port in his stomach?" asked Garcia.

"The nutritional supplement that Dr. Mertz found in both victims would be ideal for someone who couldn't eat normally. So if the unsub sustained an injury to the jaw, it would also suggest that he's unable to speak." said Spencer.

"Hence the pulcinella mask. It's his way of communicating." said Rossi.

"Ok, so what is he trying to say?" asked Garcia.

"Well, let's work our way back to that based on what we know. We know this guy travels thousands of miles in two days. So, he probably doesn't sleep. He's able to sneak into a suburban house or a drug den undetected. He overwhelms his victims silently and then injects them. And then as they lay there dying over the course of an hour, he simply sits over them and leaves them a highly symbolic message, but it's a precise message. His victims are seizing up right in front of him, but this guy does not miss a brush stroke. This is a man who's been around death before. It doesn't faze him. Who else would leave this type of message?" asked Morgan.

"Drug cartels. Cutting the tongues out of snitches and the hands off of thieves." said Spencer.

"The mafia, sleeping with the fishes and all that." said Rossi.

"He's a contract killer." said Hotch.

"Only a hit man would be this good, but his message- it's not for us. It's for his customers." said Morgan.

* * *

Spencer stood with his teammates while facing the agents who wanted to be one of his new teammates, and he caught a few agents glancing at his wedding band as Morgan started.

"The unsub that we're looking for is a contract killer who is doubling back to kill his former customers. This man is highly skilled and well-trained. Under no circumstances should he be engaged without back-up." said Morgan.

"So is this a case of organized crime tying up loose ends?" asked Dr. Tara Lewis.

"Organized crime's got nothing to do with this, at least not in the traditional sense." said Rossi.

"In 2013, the Bureau took down the Silk Road network. Our initial assumption was that it was an encrypted online market for illegal drugs, which it was, but upon further inspection, we were stunned at the breadth of goods and services being traded online. Weapons, child porn, even hit men." said Spencer.

"And the payment scheme was escrow based, in which the buyer would put down half as a deposit and the other half when the seller delivered." said Hotch.

"We've now confirmed that all 3 victims hired the unsub over the past year through a similar escrow system." said Morgan.

"So why is he killing his old clients?" asked Tara.

"Hit men don't leave a message unless you pay them to. The exception is to leave a warning for customers or competitors." said Rossi.

"This unsub suffered some sort of injury to his jaw or voice, most likely as a result of something these customers did. The pulcinella mask is his statement on revenge and justice- betray the oath between customer and contractor and you pay the price." said Spencer.

"Now, normally a man with this kind of defect would attract attention. The fact that he hasn't indicates that he has deep pockets and a network of resources at his disposal." said Morgan.

"Share this profile with your local divisions and with law enforcement. Search for escrow payments to match the unsub to his clients. One of those clients will be his next target. Thank you." finished Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting at his desk calling Olivia.

"You coming home tonight?" asked Olivia as she rubbed cocoa butter on her 15 week pregnant belly.

"Pulling an all-nighter, and I know that I missed calling at bedtime." said Spencer.

"At least you're working a local case." said Olivia.

"I know, and I appreciate you about not complaining about having to bring some consults home to work on these past few weeks when I had to start working two teammates down." said Spencer.

"It's OK since your dad and I are able to keep the kids busy, and Aaron is trying to find a replacement for Kate." said Olivia.

"Well we gave the profile to the agents that Hotch is trying to interview, and there was one that was asking questions so I wouldn't be surprised if she gets hired." said Spencer before looking at the clock, "Well my break is over, and I don't know if I will be coming home tonight."

"Baby Reid and I both love you." said Olivia.

"And I love you, Baby Reid, Piper, Albert, and Ava." said Spencer before hanging up.

* * *

Spencer got out of the SUV with Morgan and Rossi when Captain Wilson approached them.

"Gentlemen, Captain Wilson, Baltimore SWAT." said Captain Wilson.

"How do you want to do this, Captain?" asked Rossi.

"We'll breach and clear. When it's locked down, the site is yours. Sound good?" asked Wilson.

"Mm-hmm." said Rossi.

"All right." said Wilson as he motioned the three agents to follow him, and a few minutes later they were in the repair shop.

"Police!" shouted Wilson.

"Don't shoot! Do not shoot!" shouted Al.

"Come out with your hands up." ordered Wilson just as Rossi and Spencer flanked him.

"That's gonna be real hard, real hard. Look!" shouted Al.

"What's that you got in your hands?" asked Wilson.

Spencer's stomach dropped at the sight of the grenade.

"Grenade!" shouted Morgan.

"Drop it!" shouted Wilson.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" shouted Rossi.

"Drop it! Drop it! Drop it!" shouted Wilson as Spencer looked around.

"I can't drop it! I can't!" shouted Al.

At that moment Spencer realized that the grenade was most likely glued to Al's hand causing him to shout the loudest possible as he holstered his gun.

"Put your weapons down!" bellowed Spencer as he walked towards Al, "Put your weapons down." said Spencer and everyone complied to as he looked at Al, "You mean that literally, don't you? You can't drop it."

"Yeah!" said Al.

Spencer knelt down by Al as Morgan came forward.

"What did he use? What did he use?!" asked Morgan.

"Over there." said Al.

Al looked at a bottle as Spencer looked at the grenade.

"It's dried and set and he glued over the pin. Do you have any acetone?" asked Spencer.

"It's not gonna work. It's not gonna work." said Al.

"Reid, he's right. This is industrial acrylic. It holds car parts together." said Morgan.

"Bomb squad's 10 minutes out. I'm gonna take out my men and set up a perimeter. Maybe we can still box this guy in." said Wilson.

"We're staying." said Rossi as Spencer helped Al stand up.

"All right, we're going block to block, gentlemen." said Wilson before walking away.

"You gotta do something, ok?" asked Al.

"We will, we will, but you need to stay still. Stay still." said Morgan as Spencer looked around.

"He-he pulled the pin. I'm holding down this clamp here, but my hand is cramping, so you-just do something, all right?!" shouted Al.

At that moment Spencer came up with a plan, knowing that he can put his chemistry skills to use in the field.

"Morgan, 4 cars." said Spencer.

Morgan looked as he wondered where Spencer's mind was going.

"What about them?" asked Morgan.

"Each car has a battery, right? Each battery has an electrolyte solution of 62% water, 38% sulfuric acid." said Spencer.

"But, Reid, that's not gonna work." said Morgan.

"Why not?" asked Rossi as he realized that Spencer was planning on putting his PhD in chemistry to use.

"Because the acrylic will still stay bonded to the metal." said Morgan.

"Absolutely true, but it will also create a saponification effect on his flesh. The grenade will literally slide out of his hand like a wet bar of soap. Of course there will be an intense burning sensation on the skin, and the smell will be horrendous." said Spencer.

"You can't-you're not burning my hands! You're not gonna do it!" shouted Al.

"Stay still!" ordered Morgan.

"Hey, listen, pal. You got yourself into this mess, so unless you got a better idea, just shut up." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was donning some gloves as he started fixing the solution as he looked at Al.

"I have a PhD in chemistry, and a couple of years back when our troops encountered white phosphorus in Iraq, I took it upon myself to create a cure and it worked by using copper sulfate." said Spencer.

"If you're able to make a cure for white phosphorus, I trust you to get this grenade out of my hands." said Al.

A few minutes later Spencer had the solution in a syringe as he made his way over to Al.

"Someone's gotta hold the grenade while this thing is—right?" asked Al.

"That's my job." said Rossi.

"This is gonna hurt, but you'll survive." said Spencer before looking at Morgan and Rossi. "Is everybody ready?"

"Yeah. Just watch your end, kid." said Rossi as he put his gloved hands on the lever, "All right, my hand's on the lever." said Rossi.

"All right, I need you to help me pull." said Morgan as he had his hands in place.

"Yeah." said Al.

Spencer squeezed the solution into Al's hands and a few seconds later it was bubbling as Al screamed. 10 seconds later the grenade was sitting on Rossi's hands.

"I've got it." said Rossi as he held the fizzing grenade.

"Here. We safe, Rossi?" asked Morgan

"Yeah, we're good. The lever's st-" said Rossi as he realized that it was going to go off, "Run!" shouted Rossi as he tossed the grenade as far as he could before sprinting out of the garage with Spencer, Morgan, and Al before all four men rushed to take cover behind a police car with their hands covering their heads just as the garage exploded.

A few seconds later Spencer looked at his two teammates and Al as soon as they were safe.

"You guys ok? Anyone hurt?" asked Spencer as he stood up to his full height and looked at Al, "You ok?"

At that moment Al walked away and started vomiting.

"Yeah, he's fine." said Rossi.

"At least my new outfit that Livy got me for our fourth wedding anniversary didn't get ruined." said Spencer as he took in the sight of his dress pants.

A few minutes later medics were checking over Spencer, Morgan, Rossi, and Al and as soon as they were given the all clear they headed back to Quantico.

* * *

Garcia placed a photo on the clear board.

"Ok, so, a week ago, this guys stumbles into the Atlantic City E.R., having been shot in the jaw. Can't give them his name 'cause of the whole shot in the mouth thing. But his fingerprints lit up the Rome police database like a Christmas tree." said Garcia.

"Italian. That explains the pulcinella influence." said Rossi.

"Yeah. They were able to get a name- Giuseppe Montolo, but by the time Jersey P.D. got there, Montolo had been patched up and made his escape." said Garcia.

"And now he's on some type of payback gig. He has no idea who double-crossed him, so now he's killing every customer that he suspects might have done it." said Morgan.

"I tried to use Al's username and password to flush out other clients, but they don't call it the Darknet for nothing." said Garcia.

"Then we let it go. We're not going to catch him that way." said Rossi.

"What other way is there?" asked Garcia.

"Montolo changed his M.O. drastically with the last victim." said Hotch.

"He went from up close and personal to collateral damage." said Spencer.

"Al blows himself up or we kill him. Either way it's a win-win." said Rossi.

"If he made that dramatic a shift, it was a mistake. That's how we catch him." said Hotch.

"All right, then let's do this old school. Morgan, you took Al's confession. Walk us through it like you're the unsub." said Rossi.

"I got my victim on the ground, and I have the syringe in my hand. I have total control over him. This is my moment. I'm gonna make him pay for what he did. But Al said he got a text. I don't like what I see. Now I have to change my plan. What was on that text?" asked Morgan.

"Someone tipped him off. He wouldn't deviate that much otherwise." said Hotch.

"But that would mean that-" said Garcia.

"We have a mole." said Hotch as he gathered the shocked faces of Morgan, Spencer, and Garcia.

"There's a lot of new faces around here want to join the BAU." said Rossi.

"I don't think it's a federal agent. I think it's someone in local law enforcement." said Spencer.

"Based on what?" asked Morgan.

"The clock. According to Al, the unsub left 5 minutes before we showed up. That's a narrow window. Too narrow for him to wait around for an embolism, but he had to figure out a way to deal with his last victim. Montolo changed his M.O. at the last moment because he learned about us at the last moment." said Spencer.

"So the last one to hear the cavalry was coming in the Judas. That means a local cop." said Rossi as he understood Spencer's line of thought.

"Or SWAT. You said Wilson pulled his men off the scene?" asked Hotch.

"He said he wanted to box the unsub in. But maybe he really wanted to ensure he got out." said Rossi.

"We profiled that the unsub would have support and resources. An ally in SWAT would give him both." said Spencer.

"We go after a captain, we need more than a profile, we need proof." said Morgan.

"The security perimeter they set up, they would have recorded every license plate- Garcia." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir." said Garcia as she sat down by her laptop, "Ok. Cross-referencing last name Wilson. Uh, ok. I got a Ford Taurus. It is registered to Betty Wilson, wife of Captain Phil Wilson."

"Quite a plan these 3 have. He waved his own wife through the checkpoint. And she secured the hit man's escape." said Rossi.

"Montolo has them both working under duress. Wilson has to be a customer." said Morgan.

"Which means he's also a target." said Hotch.

* * *

Spencer crept around the lot with Morgan and a couple of SWAT members before they crouched down by a fence and took a look at the surroundings.

"It's a perfect place for a hit." said Morgan as they waited for Wilson and Montolo to pull up and a few minutes later Morgan was alerting Hotch.

"Hotch. He just landed." said Morgan as he listened to Hotch before looking at the sniper that was with them, "Do you have a visual?"

The sniper shook his head.

"Hotch, this is negative. Wilson's in the way." said Morgan.

A minute later Spencer, Morgan, and some SWAT agents heard a gunshot and noticed Montolo escaping.

"Go! Go!" shouted Morgan as he and a few SWAT agents went after Montolo while Spencer headed towards Captain Wilson who was holding a gun under his chin.

"Drop the gun, Captain." ordered Spencer as he pointed his gun at Wilson.

"No." said Wilson before looking at Spencer, "It was all me. Betty had nothing to do with this."

"We already know it was both of you, Phil. But you did what you did out of love. And Betty's only hope for leniency is if you testify on her behalf. All right? So don't abandon her. Not when she needs you the most." said Spencer.

Wilson handled Spencer the gun, and less than a minute later he was calling Garcia.

"Reid, what happened? What happened? What happened?" asked a frantic Garcia.

"We got both of them." said Spencer as he saw Wilson and Montolo, "Alive."

"Yes!" said Garcia.

"Good work. We'll see you back here." said Hotch.

Spencer hung up, and over an hour later he was back at Quantico doing his paperwork. As soon as he handed it to Hotch, Hotch looked at him.

"How about you take the day off and spend it with Olivia and the kids." said Hotch.

"OK. That means I get to take Piper to gymnastics later on this afternoon." said Spencer.

"Mind if I join you so I can spend some time with my goddaughter?" asked Hotch.

"Not at all since Piper's been wanting you to come along, and when Jack gets out of school you and he can stay for dinner." said Spencer.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer quietly checked on Piper and Ava in the girls bedroom and on Albert in his bedroom before quietly creeping into the master bedroom where Olivia was already asleep and quietly tiptoed into the master bathroom. Two minutes into his shower he felt a cold blast of air before he felt arms around him.

"You reek like smoke." said Olivia as she decided to wash her husband's body while Spencer focused on washing his hair.

Spencer turned around and smiled at the sight of his beautiful 15 week pregnant wife while realizing that he couldn't lie to her.

"One of the three men we arrested had a grenade glued to his hands by our main unsub, and in order to save our lives I used my PhD in chemistry to create a solution with chemicals that I found in the car repair garage we were in, and luckily Rossi, Morgan, one of the men we arrested, and I made it out safely despite the garage exploding." said Spencer.

"Did you get checked out by EMTs?" asked Olivia.

"I did, and with completing paperwork before coming home, Hotch gave me the day off." smiled Spencer before he focused on washing out the shampoo.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were making love in the shower.

* * *

Later that afternoon Spencer and Hotch were sitting on the benches watching Piper doing a few unassisted back handsprings on the trampoline, and after watching Piper give her coach a high five Hotch looked at Spencer who was beaming with pride.

"She's really excelled since starting gymnastics over nine months ago." said Hotch as he thought about the videos he has seen.

"I know, and even though I was worried about the kids possibly inheriting my eidetic memory since it's both a blessing and a curse for me, I'm just glad that Piper's able to use her eidetic memory for gymnastics since she just has to watch once before she copies the move she's supposed to do before doing it on her own." said Spencer.

"Excited about turning 34 next Friday?" asked Hotch.

"I am, and thinking about my 34th birthday is making me think of the first time I beat Gideon at chess after my 24th birthday." said Spencer as he thought about his late former mentor.

"There are times that I miss him, but I'm glad it was him that brought you into my life." said Hotch as he looked at the young man who has grown so much since meeting when he was 21.

"I know, and who would have known 10 years ago that 10 years later I would be married to one of the most beautiful girls for four years, have three kids and a fourth on the way." said Spencer as Piper ran over to him.

"Did you watch me daddy?" asked Piper.

"We sure did." said Spencer as he playfully threw Piper over his shoulders causing the three year old girl to burst out laughing as Hotch smiled.

"You definitely did a great job, Piper." said Hotch as he took his goddaughter from her father.

"You and Jack come over for dinner?" asked Piper.

"I'm planning on Jack and I joining you guys for dinner." said Hotch.

"I love you uncle Aaron." said Piper.

"I love you too Piper." said Hotch as he hugged his goddaughter.


	3. The Witness and Spencer Turns 34

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to Hippichic81, tannerose5, Chermayne, southernbeauty13, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 2._

 _JJ doesn't attend Spencer's birthday dinner in this chapter since she's going to catch up on sleep while Michael sleeps._

* * *

Spencer was eating breakfast with his family when Piper looked at her daddy.

"How old are you going to be on Friday?" asked Piper.

"I'm turning 34." said Spencer.

Piper did a bit of math in her head before speaking up.

"You were 30 when I was born?" asked Piper.

"You are correct." praised Spencer.

* * *

Over an hour and a half later Spencer was setting his bags under his desk when Tara entered the bullpen carrying a box and looked at Spencer.

"Dr. Reid, do you know where an open desk is?" asked Tara.

Spencer quickly flashed back to his last case and remembered Tara.

"Right over there Dr. Lewis." said Spencer as he pointed out the desk that Kate used.

"Please call me Tara instead." said Tara as she set the box down.

"Please call me either Spencer or Reid, but don't be surprised if you're introduced as doctor since I'm always introduced as doctor by my teammates." said Spencer.

"Don't you also have a PhD in psychology?" asked Tara.

"I have four PhDs and one of them in in psychology that specializes in post traumatic stress disorder since I interviewed serial killers who suffered from it while working on my dissertation." said Spencer.

"I actually came across that dissertation over two years ago, and it was amazing." said Tara.

"Thanks, and I read your dissertation a few days ago when we were told that you are our new teammate." said Spencer.

Tara started setting up her desk while she looked at Spencer.

"When you were on your way back from the take down last week, I couldn't help it and took a peek at the photos on your desk. Those are some cute kids by the way." said Tara.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

"How old are they?" asked Tara as she walked over to Spencer's desk and took a look at the latest Reid family portrait since the family of five were dressed accordingly.

"That girl with the curly hair and my eyes is Piper and she's three years old, and the younger two are Albert and Ava who are both two." said Spencer.

"Twins?" asked Tara.

Spencer nodded.

"My mom's a twin herself, so my wife and I weren't surprised when we were told that we were expecting twins during Olivia's second pregnancy." said Spencer.

Tara studied the photo and she realized that Albert was practically a clone of his father and Ava was a clone of her mother while Piper had features from both of her parents.

"Your son looks just like you." said Tara.

"I know." said Spencer.

"Ever thinking about having one more with your wife?" asked Tara.

Spencer smiled.

"My wife is already 16 weeks pregnant with our fourth child so either in late February or March you will be working without me for a month." smiled Spencer.

"Congratulations." said Tara.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"Know the gender yet?" asked Tara.

"Not yet, but Olivia and I are revealing the gender during my birthday dinner on Friday since Livy's having her ultrasound today and she's asking her doctor to put the ultrasound photo in the birthday card that I will be getting from my kids." said Spencer.

"Now that will be fun." said Tara before doing the math on how old Spencer's going to be since she heard that he joined the BAU in 2003 when he just turned 22, "You're turning 34?"

"I guess you did your research on me since you're working with another doctor." smiled Spencer.

"I did." said Tara.

"You should also know that my father lives with my wife, kids, and I since he helps Olivia out when I'm on the road." said Spencer.

"Why doesn't your mom also live with you?" asked Tara.

Spencer's face fell a bit.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." said Tara.

"I should tell you anyway since everyone knows that my mom has paranoid schizophrenia, and she lives in a private sanitarium in Las Vegas, Nevada where I was born and raised." said Spencer.

"Oh." said Tara before she and Spencer decided to talk about one of the weirdest killers he ever caught as they both headed to the coffee maker.

"The weirdest killer I ever worked with was Archie Sutton, the truck stop strangler." said Tara as Spencer poured himself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Even worse than the Indonesian female cannibal?" asked Spencer.

"Oddly enough, yes. Archie had this strange obsession with talcum powder and butterflies, so he would sprinkle talcum on all of his food and then carry a dead butterfly in his pocket everywhere he went." said Tara.

"It's amazing you were able to find something that you could identify with." said Spencer as he added some sugar to his coffee.

"Well, I had to. I met with him every week for a year. It was the only way to establish a therapeutic alliance." said Tara as Spencer stirred his coffee.

"What was it you guys had in common?" asked Spencer as they started walking.

"We were both obsessed with fossils when we were kids, and both of our mothers attended the same elementary school class. A bizarre coincidence, right?" asked Tara as they entered the conference room.

"What's a coincidence?" asked Rossi as he looked at the two doctors.

"Tara's mom went to the same elementary school as the Truck Stop strangler's mom." said Spencer.

"Ok, that's a little creepy somehow." said Morgan as he noticed that Spencer and Tara were getting along well.

"Yeah." said Tara.

At that moment Hotch and Garcia entered the room.

"Don't get comfortable. The plane's waiting for us." said Hotch.

"10 minutes ago there was a poison gas attack on a city link commuter bus in Los Angeles. 10 confirmed dead so far." said Garcia.

"Do we know what it was?" asked Tara.

"Hazmat just got on the scene." said Garcia.

"Chlorine gas was used recently in Syria. Maybe it's connected." said Morgan as everyone got up so they could head to the elevators.

"It also reminds me of the attack on the Tokyo subway. Religious cult members carried plastic bags of sarin and punctured them with umbrella tips." said Spencer as he headed to the elevators with his teammates.

"That was 1995. It could be a 20th year anniversary event." said Rossi.

"We'll find out." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was in the elevator with his teammates and quickly typed a text message.

I'M HEADING TO LOS ANGELES. AND IF YOU WATCH THE NEWS LATER, YOU WILL PROBABLY FIND OUT WHY I'M HEADING TO LA. PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW THE ULTRASOUND WENT AFTER YOUR APPOINTMENT, AND I WILL TRY AND BE BACK IN TIME FOR MY BIRTHDAY THIS FRIDAY. I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU. ~ SR

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Just let your pregnant wife know that you're heading to LA?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah, and she's at her ultrasound right now." said Spencer.

"Why didn't you want to go?" asked Rossi.

"Olivia banned me from coming to this appointment since she is asking her doctor to put the ultrasound photo into my birthday card from the kids while refusing to be told. So during my birthday dinner this Friday, I will be revealing the gender." said Spencer.

"Have you two discussed names?" asked Tara.

"We're not sharing until the gender reveal." said Spencer.

* * *

"Oh, crime fighters, I just got confirmation from the LA. field office that traces of sarin were found." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at Tara before speaking.

"Sarin is the most volatile nerve agent there is. Symptoms are felt within seconds. Watery eyes, foaming at the nose and mouth, and convulsions, paralysis, and death within minutes." said Spencer.

"The last known use of sarin was two years ago in Syria, near Damascus." said Tara.

"We've had recent threats of terrorism targeting major US cities." said Morgan.

"The religious cult responsible for the Tokyo subway attack 20 years ago is also still active." said Rossi.

"Very much so, but they've split into two branches with different names. There's over 2,100 members and 4 of them are in Southern California." said Spencer.

"Where's the leader?" asked Morgan.

"Shoko Asahara's on death row in Japan. He's incoherent and confined to a wheelchair." said Hotch.

"So he's not calling any shots." said Rossi.

"No, but that doesn't rule out devout followers doing it in his name." said Hotch.

"Garcia, what do you know about the casualties?" asked Tara.

"Aside from the IDs, not much." said Garcia.

"Well, it's 6 men and 4 women, age range 20 to 60. Victimology seems to be pretty random." said Morgan.

"Here's the thing- sarin evaporates quickly, it's hard to control, and would thus be very difficult to target an individual." said Spencer.

"Collateral damage may mask the real target. Garcia, look into the victims and also anyone online claiming responsibility." said Hotch.

"Aye aye, captain." said Garcia.

* * *

Spencer and Rossi got out of the SUV when Agent Young approached them.

"I'm Agent Young. The Hazmat teams says they're almost done with their decontamination." said Agent Young.

"Well, the good news with sarin, if there is such a thing, is that it's a relatively short-lived threat. Once it dissipates, there's very little cleanup to be done." said Spencer.

"Excuse me." said Agent Young before walking away.

Rossi looked at their resident chemist.

"If sarin is so fast and deadly, how can someone release it without harming themselves in the process?" asked Rossi.

"Excellent question. The cult members in Tokyo wore surgical masks, and even with them, some of them were still injured. I'm guessing that-" said Spencer as Young interrupted them.

"The techs just found this, stuck under a seat in the third row." said Young as he passed Spencer a bag, "It tested positive for sarin residue."

Spencer looked over the device.

"It looks like some kind of time-release device." said Spencer.

At that moment Rossi looked at it.

"Looks homemade. It's battery operated." said Rossi.

At that moment Spencer realized what it was since he and Olivia use one for their fish tank.

"You know, it reminds me of an automatic fish food feeder." said Spencer.

At that moment Agent Young noticed Spencer's wedding band and realized that the young agent standing in front of him would have pet fish to help teach his children responsibility of raising a pet.

"How would it work?" asked Agent Young.

"With a fish food feeder, there's a disk inside with multiple slots and each slot is filled with fish food. As the disk rotates, the food is released at very specific times. My assumption is, with this device, only one slot was filled with sarin, because even in a miniscule amount, sarin is deadly." said Spencer.

"So someone could have planted that a long time ago." said Rossi.

"How long ago?" asked Agent Young.

"My fish food feeder lasts 6 weeks, so, theoretically... The unsub could have left all the slots empty except for the very last one, and then waited 6 weeks for the sarin to be released. We need to look at everyone who got on and off that bus for the last month and a half." said Spencer.

"Great." said Young.

Spencer contacted Hotch, and a few minutes later Spencer looked at Agent Young.

"I just replaced my fish food feeder two weeks ago when my oldest wanted me to add two new fish to our tank." said Spencer.

"How many kids do you have?" asked Agent Young.

"A three year old daughter named Piper, two year old twins named Albert and Ava, and my wife is 16 weeks pregnant with our fourth child." said Spencer as he showed Agent Young a picture of his kids.

Agent Young looked at the picture and noticed that the little boy definitely looks like his father while the oldest girl is definitely a perfect mixture of both her parents.

"They're gorgeous." said Agent Young.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table reading a file when Morgan entered the room.

"Assuming this wasn't a fresh batch of sarin, where would you get this stuff premade?" asked Morgan.

"Technically, nowhere. After the U.N. banned the use of chemical weapons, everyone was supposed to destroy their stockpiles by 2007." said Spencer just as Hotch's phone rang.

"Go ahead, Garcia." answered Hotch.

"I come bearing information gifts. There are many chemists in the L.A. area, but one in particular is Johann Geitman. He was fired two months ago from Holder Industries for online gambling at work. He posted a huge rant on social media saying that they would come to regret what they did." said Garcia.

"Could be retaliation." said Spencer.

"We should talk to him." said Morgan.

"Yeah, here's the thing. I have a P.O. Box where he gets his mail, but I don't have a current address, and he canceled his cell phone two weeks ago." said Garcia.

"All right, keep digging." said Hotch.

"I will turn over every kilobyte till he is found." said Garcia.

"Thanks." said Hotch before hanging up.

At that moment Agent Colfax came into the room.

"Hey. You're gonna want to see this. You asked us to look at surveillance in the areas that the city link stops." said Colfax as she turned on the monitor, "We picked this up from the commuter parking lot at the Victory depot this morning. According to the time marker, he parks here, just before bus 290 arrives. Then he leaves... And then he returns to his car a few minutes later." said Colfax.

"So he never got on the bus." said Morgan.

"Nope. Running the license plate now." said Colfax.

At that moment Spencer got up.

"He gets back into his car, he's holding something. What is that?" asked Spencer.

Colfax took a look.

"Bottle of water?" asked Colfax.

"Maybe it's sarin." said Morgan.

"He's cleaning his hands and clothes with it." said Spencer.

"Why would he be doing that?" asked Morgan.

Spencer thought about the lab safety courses he went through when he was working on his BA in chemistry.

"Washing with soap and water is what you're supposed to do immediately after being exposed to sarin." said Spencer as Colfax checked her phone.

"Ok. Our car belongs to a Charles Senarak. He lives in Simi Valley and works at Banning Medical Supply. He's a regular commuter on the city link but didn't ride this morning." said Colfax.

"We need to pay Mr. Senarak a visit." said Hotch.

At that moment Spencer's phone vibrated, and he shook his head when he saw a text from Olivia.

WHY DID WE HAVE TO AGREE WITH HAVING A FOURTH CHILD. I WENT GROCERY SHOPPING AFTER MY DOCTOR APPOINTMENT AND I FORGOT TO BUY YOU COFFEE. I REALLY HATE PREGNANCY BRAIN. ~ OR

Spencer quickly texted her back.

IT'S OK OLIVIA. I CAN RUN TO THE STORE AFTER I RETURN FROM L.A. ~ SR

At that moment Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Everything OK?" asked Morgan.

"Olivia is cursing me for getting her pregnant since she's dealing with pregnancy brain." said a slightly amused Spencer.

"Your first?" asked Colfax.

"My wife and I are expecting our fourth child in 24 weeks, and we also have a three year old daughter and two year old fraternal twins." said Spencer.

"Congratulations." said Colfax.

"Thank." said Spencer.

* * *

Agent Young approached Spencer and Morgan.

"The victim has been positively I.D.'d as Johann Geitman." said Agent Young.

Spencer recognized the name.

"Wait, the chemist who was fired from Holder Industries?" asked Spencer.

"Yes. He died of a single gunshot wound to the head. The M.E. says based on reversal of rigor mortis, time of death was 36 hours ago." said Agent Young.

"You said you got an anonymous tip?" asked Morgan.

"About an hour ago. We got a call about the sound of gunfire." said Agent Young.

"That's odd. It definitely doesn't match his time of death." said Spencer.

At that moment Morgan looked at the door.

"Well, somebody broke in. There's glass all over the ground. Who owns this cabin?" asked Morgan.

"It's a vacation home for a Hong Kong businessman who hasn't been in here in over a year." said Young.

"Any connection to Geitman?" asked Spencer.

"No. Maybe Geitman broke in and was squatting here." said Young.

"It's possible, but Geitman didn't do this. He'd have cleaned up the glass if he was living here. I think whoever killed Geitman came in this way." said Morgan.

Young led Spencer and Morgan through the cabin.

"So the body was found there." said Young.

"Well, it looks like Geitman camped out here for a while." said Morgan.

"Was he making sarin here?" asked Young.

"I don't see any signs of it." said Spencer as he noticed a cord on the desk, "Look at this. Whoever killed Geitman took his computer."

"Probably to hide evidence." said Young.

"Agent, the way we drove up here, is that the only way in?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah." said Young.

"Because the only gas station I remember seeing was about 25 miles back. There's a reasonable chance that whoever killed Geitman stopped there. So we should pull surveillance footage if they have any." said Morgan.

"I'm on it." said Young before walking away.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was talking to Hotch and Morgan in the conference room.

"Geitman's former employer, Holder Industries, is one of the oldest chemical companies around. They were a major supplier of sarin to the US. military in the 1950s." said Spencer.

"I know you said all stockpiles should have been destroyed by 2007, but what if they weren't? What if Holder Industries still had some?" asked Morgan.

"And Geitman may have known where it was." said Hotch.

"The unsub bought it from him and then killed him so he couldn't talk." said Morgan.

"Which means chances are good the unsub has more sarin that what was used." said Spencer.

"We need to deliver the profile." said Hotch.

* * *

Spencer stood with Tara in front of the podium as they gave the profile to the press.

"We believe a chemist named Johann Geitman provided the sarin in the recent attack." said Spencer.

"Geitman may have been a supplier working on his own, or he may have been a part of a partnership that soured." said Tara.

"We're looking for any information regarding Geitman's recent whereabouts or any individuals he may have had contact with." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer stood in the elevator with Rossi when Rossi's phone rang.

"Go ahead, Penelope." said Rossi.

"Charlie Senarak isn't beige at all. He's a Verdant green. A month ago, he went on this ranty Facebook post about men who cheat with married women, then early yesterday morning he deleted it. I was just able to recover it, and his Internet search history- hot magma of homicidal rage doesn't even begin to cover it." said Garcia.

"Maybe Charlie found out his wife was having an affair." said Rossi.

"If that's the case, he could be spiraling and lashing out at the world." said Spencer as he elevator door opened.

"Thanks, Penelope, we're at his office now." said Rossi.

A minute later Spencer and Rossi approached Tracy Senarak.

"Can I help you?" asked Tracy.

"We're looking for Charlie Senarak." said Rossi.

"I'm his wife. Is something wrong?" asked Tracy.

At that moment Rossi showed his badge.

"We're with the FBI. We're just looking to follow up with him. Where is he?" asked Rossi.

"He left a half an hour ago. I think he had a meeting with a client." said Tracy.

A few minutes later Spencer and Rossi were sitting in front of Tracy in her office as a few agents went through Charlie's desk.

"My phone was in Charlie's desk? I don't understand." said Tracy.

"Your husband's hiding something. We think he's connected to the sarin attack. We just don't know how, exactly." said Rossi.

Tracy exhaled.

"That's impossible. That's not like Charlie at all." said Tracy.

"You were having an affair, weren't you?" asked Rossi.

Both Spencer and Rossi noticed Tracy's reaction.

"You'd be surprised what someone with a broken heart will do." said Spencer as he thought about how he and Olivia have managed four years of marriage by communicating.

"Who was it with?" asked Rossi.

"Theo Koutranis. But I was trying to end it with him." said Tracy.

"Did Charlie know that?" asked Spencer.

"He thought it was already over. But Theo was...persistent." said Tracy as she came to a realization, "Oh, my God."

"What?" asked Rossi.

"Theo's been missing for two days. His brother was here earlier looking for him." said Tracy.

Rossi gestured for Tracey's phone.

"May I?" asked Rossi.

Tracy handed Rossi the phone, and Rossi looked at the last text from Theo.

"It looks like Theo sent you a text two days ago. "Meet me at the Desert Bloom Inn, 10 pm, room 3." said Rossi before passing Tracy back her phone.

"I never-I never got this." said Tracy.

"Because Charlie had your phone, which means that he saw it." said Spencer.

"So he know you were still having an affair. Maybe he went to confront Theo." said Rossi before noticing the sadness that Tracy was showing, "Mrs. Senarak."

"Charlie didn't come home two nights ago. He said he was driving around." said Tracy.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"That was the night before the attack. Tell us more about Theo Koutranis." said Rossi.

* * *

Spencer was leaving with Rossi when Garcia called them.

"Talk to me, Penelope." said Rossi.

"You were right, handsome Italian man. Theo Koutranis is more than just a lover boy. His name used to be Theo Martin. He grew up in the Heaven's Mission cult compound in Southern Utah. He was one of 50- 50 illegitimate children of the cult leader, who had vehement anti-government views." said Garcia.

"Shades of David Koresh." said Rossi.

"Oh, sure. And 8 years ago, he moved here with his half-brother Mitchell Crossford. Uh, Mitchell blogged about launching terrorist attacks here in the United States. They shared an apartment up until 3 months ago." said Garcia.

"3 months ago is right around the time Theo started having an affair with Tracy Senarak. What if Theo and Mitchell were planning a terrorist attack together, but then Theo started to have second thoughts?" asked Spencer.

"That is the sound of you nailing it, brainiac doctor, because for the last month, twice a day, every day, Mitchell has called Theo. Theo only answered once, and the last text Mitchell sent him was, "You can't run away. I know everything you do."" said Garcia.

At that moment Spencer and Rossi started walking into an elevator.

"Penelope, dig up everything you can about the brother, Mitchell Crossford." said Rossi.

"Copy copy." said Garcia.

* * *

"The two brothers were planning a terrorist attack together until they had a falling-out over Tracy Senarak." said Spencer.

"So you think Charlie went to confront Theo about sleeping with his wife?" asked Tara.

"It certainly looks that way." said Spencer.

"Theo's been missing for two days. There's a good chance Charlie killed him." said Morgan.

"Ok. "You can't run away. I know everything you do." what if Mitchell Crossford was following his brother around, trying to bring him back into the fold?" asked Tara.

"Which means he also could have witnessed Charlie murder Theo." said Spencer just as Agent Colfax entered the room.

"So we sent agents to the last location where Theo Koutranis' cell phone pinged. They just found what looks like a shallow grave about a mile into the desert just west of Desert Bloom Inn." said Agent Colfax as Hotch's phone rang.

"I'll go check it out with Rossi." said Tara before leaving the room.

At that moment Colfax sat down.

"Go ahead, Garcia." said Hotch.

"Mitchell Crossford was definitely the Alpha in the relationship. He and his mother left the cult compound when he was 10. They moved to Phoenix, where he built quite the juvenile record. Probation officers described him as cold, intelligent, and scarily manipulative. He had extremist views, and at 16 he ran right back into the brainwashy arms of the Heaven's Mission cult." said Garcia.

"Where presumably he found a partner in crime in Theo." said Hotch.

"That's how Theo fell in love with Tracy Senarak." said Morgan.

"Guys, Tracy rode the city link bus frequently. What if in addition to testing out his stock, Mitchell planted the sarin there to kill her?" asked Spencer.

"Makes sense. He wanted his partner back, and there's a good chance that plan would have worked, except Tracy didn't get on the bus that day." said Morgan.

"I still don't understand how Charlie's involved." said Colfax.

"Mitchell witnessed the murder of Theo, realized he could turn Charlie into a patsy. Charlie obvious rides the same bus as his wife, so he already looked culpable." said Spencer.

"If Mitchell is this manipulative, then he sent Charlie to the cabin where the dead chemist was found to make it look like he had committed the murder." said Morgan.

"And then he called in an anonymous tip." said Hotch.

"Tracy Senarak said Theo's brother came in the office looking for him today. Why would he do that?" asked Colfax.

"To establish his innocence and an alibi." said Hotch.

"An alibi for what just happened?" asked Colfax.

"Or what he's planning next." said Spencer.

"Hey, Garcia, what are Mitchell's specific views?" asked Morgan.

"He felt the government needed to pay for what they did in Waco and to the FLDS prophet Warren Jeffs." said Garcia.

"Well, that means the FBI is enemy number one." said Morgan.

"He's coming here." said Hotch.

* * *

Spencer, Hotch, and Agent Colfax approached Charlie's car and Hotch opened the trunk while SWAT handled the arrest.

"These are the same sarin devices as the ones on the city link bus." said Spencer as he closed the trunk.

"I didn't do it. I swear." protested Charlie.

"We know." said Hotch.

At that moment Spencer looked at his watch.

"Look, he's got my daughter. She's 12. She's wearing a yellow sweatshirt. You have to help her, please!" shouted Charlie as he was placed into a police van.

"These could go off any second." said a frantic Colfax.

"It's 4:55. The garage is gonna be flooded with people leaving work in 5 minutes." said Spencer.

"That's what he's waiting for." said Hotch.

"We need a Hazmat decon." said Colfax.

" There isn't time. Evacuate the garage. Turn off the ventilators and seal it." ordered Hotch.

A few seconds later Morgan was alerting them that the unsub didn't have Charlie's daughter.

"We need to evacuate the facility. There's over a thousand people here." said Colfax.

"Once sarin vaporizes, it's deadly in the immediate environment, but it's heavier than air, so eventually it sinks." said Spencer.

"All right, lock down the rest of the building. Nobody leaves." said Hotch.

A couple of seconds later Morgan met up with them.

"No sign of Mitchell Crossford in the garage, but he's definitely here." said Morgan.

"All right, Colfax, we're going to need plans of the building." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Hotch was talking to Garcia as they exited the elevators.

"Talk to me. What's going on?" asked Garcia.

"Garcia, I need you to tap into surveillance and find Mitchell Crossford. He just drove here in a black van." said Hotch.

"Got it. I'm reviewing the security tapes now. Ok, I got him. I got him exiting the van. He's walking to a parking garage elevator. He's got a bag in his hand." said Garcia.

"That could be more sarin." said Morgan.

"Ok. I'm trying to find where he went." said Garcia.

"We're running out of time." said Hotch as he thought about how he wanted to make sure that Spencer makes it to his 34th birthday on Friday and that Spencer meets his unborn child in February or March.

"I'm moving as fast as I can. Got him. He's on the basement level. He's walking toward the west elevators." said Garcia.

"Colfax, I need those plans!" shouted Hotch.

"Pulling them up now." said Colfax.

"Where did he go? I just saw him and I don't see him anywhere." said Garcia.

"Well, keep looking." said Hotch as Colfax approached them.

"Ok. Here we go." said Colfax as she showed the building plans.

"All right, Crossford loves being a mastermind. He'd want to witness all the chaos he's causing. What's the best vantage point?" asked Morgan.

"There." said Spencer.

"We'll split up and cover each floor." said Hotch.

Spencer split up with his team.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was on the couch of the jet reading a book when Tara, who was walking past, noticed his book.

"Hmm. A little light reading?" asked Tara.

"Just, uh," chuckled Spencer, "I'm revisiting an old favorite."

At that moment Tara sat down by his feet.

"I take it you prefer Jung to Freud?" asked Tara.

"Oh, absolutely. I feel like Freud gave Jung too hard a time for his interest in the paranormal. Speaking of which, what do you think of Synchronicity?" asked Spencer as he thought about the conversation he had with Olivia about "Synchronicity".

"It's my favorite Police album." said Tara.

"No, I mean, uh, events that seem significantly related but have no discernable causal connection. The fact that your mom and the Truck Stop strangler's mom were in the same elementary school class really got me thinking." said Spencer as he realized that he was glad to have in depth discussions with a fellow doctor like he did with Alex.

"How so?" asked Tara.

"I don't know. It's not odd that they were in the same class. What's really strange is that one would have a child who grew up to be a serial killer, the other would have a child that grew up to be an FBI profiler and that the two of you would meet someday." said Spencer.

"Yeah. So, what's the take-away?" asked Tara.

"I don't know. Maybe the events in our lives were set in motion a long time ago. There's an old Buddhist saying that, when you meet your soulmate, remember that the act to bring you together was 500 years in the making. So, always appreciate and be kind to each other." said Spencer with a fond smile on his face as he thought about Olivia.

At that moment Tara knew that her new coworker was thinking about his wife that she had yet to meet.

"That's lovely." said Tara.

"There's a corollary for friends. When you meet a true friend, you'll be bound together through space and time for 500 years." said Spencer as he thought about Morgan before whispering, "Which means... In the year 2200, I'm gonna get Morgan back for that practical joke he played on me last week." said Spencer as he thought about Morgan deciding to wrap up all the pictures he had on his desk with wrapping paper while claiming that it was an early birthday present.

At that moment Morgan who overheard spoke up.

"Bring it, pretty boy. I'll be waitin' for you." said Morgan.

"I'll be there." said Spencer before continuing to read his book.

At that moment Tara looked at Spencer.

"What was Morgan's prank?" asked Tara.

"He decided to wrap all the photos I have on my desk with wrapping paper while explaining that he was getting ready for my birthday, and when it comes to attending Cal-tech for nine years I've been known to be a prank master there and when Olivia taught at Cal-tech she pulled a prank on her students." said Spencer.

"What type of professor is your wife?" asked Tara.

"She was a mathematics professor with having a Masters in education, and she was teaching at Georgetown when we found out that we were expecting twins so she decided to become a stay at home mom since we had to deal with one toddler and two babies in diapers at once." said Spencer.

"Is she ever going back to teaching?" asked Tara.

"With all three kids now being potty trained, she's planning on teaching again when Piper starts school next fall." said Spencer.

"At Georgetown or another college in DC?" asked Tara.

"She's thinking about teaching at Georgetown Day School, and Piper's already been accepted even though she's not starting until next August." said Spencer.

"So you're sending all your kids to private school?" asked Tara.

"We are, but with Piper being a gymnastics prodigy at three there might be a possibility that she will eventually be home schooled if she's on route to go into the Olympics so she can get more hours of training in." said Spencer as he decided to show a video of Piper doing back handsprings on a trampoline.

"Impressive for a three year old." said Tara.

"She just started in January, and the reason why she's so good is because she inherited my eidetic memory." smiled Spencer before remembering what Olivia told him to ask Tara, "Are you busy this Friday? Because if you're not, Olivia invited you to my birthday dinner so you can meet her, my kids, Hotch's son Jack, and my godson Henry who will probably show up with his dad since JJ mentioned about catching up on sleep." said Spencer.

"I think I will come since you mentioned revealing the gender of the baby your wife's currently expecting." said Tara.

* * *

After everyone had birthday cake, Spencer and Olivia looked at Hotch, Jack, Will, Henry, Morgan, Savannah, Garcia, Rossi, and Tara while Piper, Albert, and Ava were sitting by their toy drums.

"As you guys know that I had my 16 week ultrasound this week, and Dr. Carter was able to find out the gender." said Olivia.

"Can you please tell us?" asked an excited Garcia as she bounced on her heels.

"I refused to find out, but I asked my doctor to just slip the ultrasound photo into this card since I wanted Spencer and I to find out together." said Olivia as she passed her husband the sealed envelope, "Ok birthday boy, as soon as you find out the gender, kneel on the floor, rest your hands on my belly and state the name we picked out if it's a boy or a girl."

"Yes ma'am." teased Spencer as he gently pecked his wife on the lips.

"Please open that card now, Boy Wonder." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at his three kids who were waiting for his instructions.

"Drum roll please." said Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava started pounding on their toy drums while Spencer opened the envelope, and 10 seconds later Piper, Albert, and Ava stopped pounding on their drums when their father knelt down by their mommy's 16 week pregnant belly and rested his hands on it.

"Daddy can't wait to meet you in 24 weeks, Daniel Jason Reid." said Spencer as he kissed Olivia's 16 week pregnant belly while hearing the cheering from his teammates and ignoring the fact that a groaning Rossi was passing Morgan money.

Olivia looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"You three are getting a little brother." said Olivia.

"Yay!" cheered Albert while both Piper and Ava both pouted.

Spencer gave Olivia's belly one more kiss before feeling a slight kick, causing him to look up at Olivia.

"Did you feel that?" asked Spencer as he felt a tear fall.

"It's Daniel's first kick, and he's wishing his daddy a happy birthday." said Olivia as she held up her hand to help her husband stand up and Spencer pulled his wife into a deep kiss before they allowed everyone to hug and congratulate them.


	4. Til Death Do Us Part

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

 _A/N: Shout out to Jasmine, Hippichic81, Chermayne, tannerose5, OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 3._

 _I already have Daniel's looks planned out, so here's a heads up that one of his features will surprise you guys since his hair color won't be like Spencer's, Olivia's, Piper's, Albert's and Ava's but Daniel's hair color will be from Spencer's maternal side of the family so feel free to guess who's hair color Daniel will be inheriting when you review for this chapter. I already have the child actor in mind due to a movie I watched a couple of months back, and you guys have to wait until Daniel's birth to find out the name of the child actor and movie I'm talking about._

 _Olivia's now 17 weeks pregnant._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia were walking through the paint store, and Olivia looked at her husband.

"Since we're having a boy, you get to pick the theme of Daniel's nursery." said Olivia.

At that moment Spencer noticed some wall art stickers and grinned when he saw a few knights and dragons.

"I want us to do a knights of the round table theme." said Spencer.

"Diana's going to love it." said Olivia.

20 minutes later they were leaving the store when Spencer's work phone vibrated and he groaned when he saw that he had a case.

"I have to get going, and I have enough time to take you home since Hotch, Morgan, and Garcia have a meeting about another case that they're working on together." said Spencer.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table when Hotch entered the room.

"Let's get started." said Hotch.

"Ok. Savannah, Georgia, known for its charm and southern hospitality, though not so much for Brandy Green of Dover, Delaware, because 3 months ago, she came to town for a bachelorette party, and after a night of bar hopping with her bridesmaids, ended up in a dumpster in a back alley." said Garcia.

"Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head." said Morgan.

"What's that wrapped around her face?" asked Rossi.

"That would be a sash she was wearing all night that says "bride-to-be" embroidered on it." said Garcia.

"The wrapping could be ritualistic, like a shroud of some sort." said Spencer.

"Or a sign of the killer's remorse." said Tara.

"But this happened 3 months ago. Why are we getting this now?" asked Morgan.

"Because two days ago, the body of Ashley Wilcox of Dayton, Ohio, was also found in an alley dumpster in Savannah." said Hotch as Garcia showed some pictures.

"And she also had blunt force trauma, but she was strangled to death with her bride-to-be sash." said Garcia.

"It's unlikely the work of the same jilted lover, since the two women lived in different states hundreds of miles apart." said Rossi.

"They could be surrogates. Any sign of sexual assault?" asked Tara.

"None on Brandy. We don't know about Ashley yet." said Garcia.

"What's interesting is the unsub doesn't care about hiding the bodies very well." said Spencer.

"Well, he'd have to be physically fit to lift the bodies into the dumpsters." said Morgan.

"He could be sending a message that to him women are trash, disposable." said Rossi.

"No, this is about marriage. He's taking these brides on the eve of what should be the happiest day of their lives. He wants to crush that. Their weddings have become their wakes." said Tara.

At that moment Hotch told everyone to go home since they were leaving in the morning.

* * *

Later that night Spencer and Olivia were getting ready for bed when Olivia looked at her husband.

"I'm craving a big mac and french fries from McDonalds." said Olivia as she smiled sweetly at her husband.

Spencer pulled his clothes back on, and a few minutes later he was getting into his car just as his cellphone vibrated.

I'M ALSO CRAVING A CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKE. ~ OR

Spencer shook his head as he started his car so he could drive to McDonalds.

* * *

After Olivia finished off her meal, she smirked at her husband.

"What do you think about going upstairs and take a bubble bath together, and I can reward you for being a good husband?" asked Olivia as she winked at him.

At that moment Spencer felt his pants tighten, and 20 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were soaking in their claw foot bathtub.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was eating breakfast with his family and looked at his kids when he was almost done eating.

"Daddy's going away for a few days." said Spencer.

"Where are you going?" asked Piper.

"Savannah, Georgia and it's known as the south's most popular wedding destination like my hometown Las Vegas is known as a popular wedding destination in the west." said Spencer.

"You stay safe daddy." said Piper.

"I promise." said Spencer as he looked at his watch, "Uncle Aaron is coming to get me in 5 minutes so I have enough time to give you three kids lots of hugs and kisses before I have to go outside."

Five minutes later Spencer was getting into Hotch's car, and Spencer smiled when he saw Piper waving at them from the window causing, both him and Hotch to wave back.

* * *

"Established in 1733, Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia and one of the south's most popular wedding destinations." said Spencer as he thought about how his elopement happened in Las Vegas.

"Brandy and Ashley are both low-risk lifestyle victims, but their behavior the nights they were murdered was anything but." said Morgan.

"Bar hopping, being intoxicated in public, getting separated from their friends, all of that would have raised their risk levels, making them easy prey. But I am not victim blaming here. It's entirely understandable that both women would have wanted to enjoy themselves during their last nights as single women." said Tara as she thought about her own upcoming wedding.

"And from the unsub's point of view, the bars are target rich environments." said Hotch.

"But why pick only brides-to-be? Why not choose women a little less high-profile?" asked Rossi.

"Wearing a bride-to-be sash must be like waving a red cape at a bull." said Morgan.

"Actually, bulls are colorblind. So it doesn't really matter what color cape a matador waves, it's the cape's movement that elicits an aggressive charge response." said Spencer as he gained looks from his teammates, "But Morgan's metaphor still applies here." said Spencer as he realized that even though Olivia helps him be more confident, there are times that he will still be socially awkward.

"This is probably a man who had his own engagement broken off, so living in Savannah, surrounded by weddings and happy brides, it must be driving him crazy." said Tara.

At that moment Garcia's face appeared on the monitors.

"Sir, we just got a report that a third bride-to-be went missing. Madison Mills, 25, from Tampa, Florida, was celebrating at a bar with her bridesmaids last night, when she disappeared. She's supposed to get married next Sunday." said Garcia.

"The first victim was 3 months ago, the second two days ago, and now Madison." said Spencer.

"He's accelerating." said Hotch.

"He may be a townie, trolling bars to meet women." said Rossi.

"What if he interacted with them and they turned down his advances?" asked Tara.

"He could have felt emasculated, thus triggering his rage." said Spencer.

"I'll see if there's any connection between the brides-to-be." said Garcia.

"And, Garcia, look for men living in the area with violent criminal records." said Morgan.

"Also any men who were recently engaged and any who've had the engagements broken off." said Hotch.

"Check for cold feet. Got it." said Garcia.

"So how do we know Madison didn't hook up with a guy at a bar? I mean, she could still be sleeping it off and just doesn't want to face her friends." said Morgan.

"We should check into that. In the meantime, Morgan, you and Lewis retrace the victim's last steps. Reid, go to the M.E., and Dave and I will go to the P.D. and talk to the families." said Hotch.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"So have you and Olivia talked about Daniel's nursery yet?" asked Rossi.

"We've decided on a medieval theme." said Spencer before looking at Hotch, "When you sent us home yesterday afternoon to spend time with our families and sleep in our own beds, my dad and I were able to get the first coat painted."

"Your mom's really going to love the theme of the nursery the next time she comes to visit." said Rossi.

"I know." said Spencer.

"Why would your mom love the theme of the nursery?" asked Tara.

"Before my mom was forced to retire, she was a medieval 15th century literature professor so she has gotten me into the knights of the round table and chivalry since I was a child, and some of her episodes for her schizophrenia deal with back when she was a literature professor so she would be Professor Reid and I would end up being her student." said Spencer.

"Ahh." said Tara.

"I'm not always upset when she becomes Professor Reid because then I get to see what my mom was like before her schizophrenia got worse." said Spencer as he thought about his recent phone call with his mother's doctor about the possibility of having to change his mom's medication for a second time.

Morgan decided to steer the conversation back to the nursery.

"Let us know if you need any help with the nursery." said Morgan.

"My dad and I are working on it together, and Piper got to help with the painting a bit yesterday." said Spencer as he showed a picture of a grinning Piper covered a bit with blue paint.

"Now that's adorable." said Tara.

"Piper and Ava are a bit upset that they are getting another brother, and Albert has been demanding that Daniel move into his room as soon as Daniel's old enough to sleep in a big boy's bed." said Spencer.

"So your happy about now having two of each?" asked Rossi.

"I am, and my dad and aunt Ethel both love the name that Livy and I picked out." said Spencer.

"So you're related to the Daniel you're naming your son after?" asked Tara.

Spencer grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and showed Tara a picture of a four year old him with his uncle Daniel.

"He was my dad's younger brother who was married to my aunt Ethel, and despite aunt Ethel being widowed she considers my maternal cousin Andrew and I both of her boys since my mom's twin brother became a widower when I was 11 and Andrew was 9." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer stood in front of Ashley Wilcox's body with M.E. Juliette Raynard.

"Ashley Wilcox, cause of death, asphyxiation caused by strangulation. Her head was wrapped postmortem." said ME Raynard.

"Were you able to get anything out of the sash?" asked Spencer while he held the bag containing the sash.

"Some trace DNA. We're running it through CODIS." said M.E. Raynard.

Spencer set down the bag.

"The ligature marks show hesitation on the part of the killer." said Spencer as he crouched down a bit.

"He pulled the sash tight across her neck and then released it several times before she died." said Raynard.

"It could be the unsub's way of torturing his victims, or he's reluctant to kill. This looks like it was caused by some sort of heavy object. I'm thinking a flashlight or a lead pipe, perhaps." said Spencer as he pointed at the bump.

"That's what I was thinking." said Raynard.

"Any sign of sexual assault?" asked Spencer.

"No. The first victim, Brandy Green, died instantly from the blow to her head, but the killer took more time with Ashley." said Raynard.

"The unsub could be impotent, and choking his victims is how he satiates his urges." said Spencer as he ended up taking ahold of one of Ashley's hands to look at the nails while thinking about how Olivia would go get her nails done at the spa and occasionally take Piper and Ava with her.

"The press-on nails on that hand are missing, probably ripped off in the struggle." said Raynard.

"The nails have been bitten off." said Spencer.

"Maybe Ashley bit her nails before she was tortured? Nail-biting's an unsanitary habit, but pretty common." said Raynard.

At that moment Spencer thought about how he and Olivia were trying to break Piper and Ava of the habit of biting their nails as he examined Ashley's nails.

"True, but it's still considered an impulse control disorder. It's often associated with other body focus repetitive behaviors such as skin picking, skin biting, and trichotillomania. But, in this case, I think there's more to it than that, because the nails haven't been bitten underneath the press-on nails." said Spencer before he looked at the ME, "Are you testing the saliva?"

"What are you thinking?" asked Raynard.

Spencer stood up to his full height.

"I'm thinking the unsub bit Ashley's nails." said Spencer.

"I've seen some freaky stuff in my day, but never this." said Raynard.

"He most likely has some sort of mental disorder." said Spencer.

"I'll say." said Raynard.

* * *

Spencer was walking to the recent crime scene with Morgan and Tara while Morgan contacted Garcia.

"Baby girl, you there?" asked Morgan.

"Speak now or forever hold your peace." said Garcia.

"Listen, Reid thinks that our unsub may have a mental illness. Run that against your list of local men with records. Domestic disputes, peeping, public intoxication." said Morgan.

"And check to see if any have been released from public or private mental health institutions within the area." said Spencer.

"Bingo, 5 names. Sending them now." said Garcia.

A few minutes later they reached the tree that the unsub laid Madison's body on.

"A man walking his dog found her." said Captain Hallendale.

"Why change dump sites now?" asked Tara.

"The unsub could have figured a dumpster downtown was too risky." said Spencer.

"She's got a gash on the side of her head like the others. And look at this." said Tara as she showed what was written on Madison's head.

"Is that lipstick?" asked Hallendale.

"By wrapping and marking Madison's face, the unsub's taking away her beauty." said Morgan.

"And by choosing the word "slut," the unsub's commenting on Madison's virtue. Virtue and beauty are traditionally celebrated attributes in women." said Spencer as he thought about how much he fell in love with Olivia's inner beauty since outer beauty didn't matter to him.

"That's especially true for a bride or a bride-to-be." said Morgan.

At that moment Tara looked at Spencer before saying her thoughts out loud.

"The unsub is female." said Tara.

"How do you figure that?" asked Hallendale.

"3 female victims, no sign of sexual assault, and the victims were all strangled, but not manually." said Spencer.

"And the word "slut" written here in lipstick, is linguistically a word choice typically made by females." said Tara.

"Now it's time to deliver the profile." said Morgan.

* * *

Spencer stood in the police station with Hotch and Tara giving the profile while Morgan and Rossi gave it to the press outside.

"We believe the unknown subject we're looking for is a white woman in her late 20s to early 30s." started Hotch.

"Because she was able to subdue, control, transport, and dispose of the 3 victims, she's most likely large and strong." said Tara.

"But she comes across as non-threatening, allowing her to get close to her victims before attacking them." said Spencer.

"We should be interviewing wedding vendors. They may have come in contact with this woman." said Hotch.

"This list obviously includes caterers, florists, photographers, wedding planners, hotel managers, and bridal shop workers." said Spencer as he thought back to when he and Olivia discussed their wedding before they decided to elope.

"Is she making a statement about the institution of marriage?" asked Hallendale.

"Because of her poor self-image, as evidenced by the demeaning language and the nail-biting, we believe she is angry with these brides-to-be because of some romantic frustration or disappointment in her own life. She's most likely lashing out over something or someone she feels she'll never have." said Tara.

"She attacks with a level of violence that demonstrates this is personal. She may be jealous of her victims for having something that she desperately wants for herself. Thank you." finished Hotch.

* * *

"What can you tell us, Garcia?" asked Rossi.

"That the stress and pressure of planning the perfect wedding is enough to drive anyone bonkers." said Garcia as she realized that eloping was the right thing for Spencer and Olivia since they kept everything low key for Diana.

"Garcia, you find any connection between the wedding vendors and the 3 victims?" asked Morgan.

"Oh, yeah. Brandy, Ashley, and Madison all went to the same 30 vendors, one of which does a horse-drawn pumpkin carriage. I mean, come on. I need that in my life. Anyway, I talked to all the vendors and none of them remember a large, strong non-threatening woman who was recently dumped by her fiance so she had to cancel all of her plans. They said they'd definitely remember a customer like that." said Garcia.

"But what if the unsub didn't visit one of the vendors? What if she is one of the vendors?" asked Hotch.

"That's a more statistically probable way that the unsub could come in contact with all the victims." said Spencer as Tara's phone rang.

"If she had a relationship that ended badly, dealing with happy brides every day could fuel her anger." said Rossi.

"Garcia, see if any of the vendors fit the profile and if any have been recently divorced." said Hotch.

"Asketh and you shall receiveth." said Garcia before hanging up.

"If she's attacking brides-to-be because she was in a bad relationship or one didn't go as she hoped, then she's most likely depressed." said Morgan.

"Yeah, but in my experience, depressed women don't display this level of violence towards others." said Tara.

"Even if the depression's so severe, it leads to psychosis?" asked Hotch.

* * *

The next morning Spencer smiled when he saw the smiling faces of Olivia and his kids on his tablet.

"Good morning daddy." said Piper.

"Good morning guys, did you three munchkins have a good sleepover with mommy last night?" asked Spencer as he thought about the text he got from Olivia.

"I got to feel DJ kick." said Piper.

"You did?" asked a grinning Spencer.

"Kicking is not nice." said Piper as she thought about the time she was forced to have a time out after kicking Albert.

"Kicking isn't nice, but feeling your baby brother kick is his way to say hi and that he already loves us all." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." said Piper.

"En is my broter be here?" asked Albert.

"About 23 more weeks buddy." said Spencer.

"Tat a long time." said Albert.

"I know, but right now Daniel's the size of an onion." said Spencer.

"That's little." said Piper.

"Onions are yucky." said Albert.

"Plus they make daddy and me cry when we cut them." said Olivia.

At that moment Spencer noticed Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, and Tara coming.

"Well daddy has to get going since I'm about to eat breakfast, and if I'm not coming home tonight I will call you guys at bedtime." said Spencer before he exchanged "I love yous" with the kids and signed off Skype.

* * *

"Ok, let's add it up. We may have a wedding vendor who is in love with someone who doesn't love her back or who might be engaged. And she's probably severely depressed because of her physical and emotional state." said Tara as Spencer nodded along.

"Assuming she's under a doctor's care, she might be off her meds. Nail-biting can be a symptom of that." said Spencer as he answered a phone call from Garcia, "What's up, Garcia?"

"I found several female vendors who went through a divorce, but none in the past 6 months." said Garcia.

"Do any of them have a history of depression?" asked Spencer.

"Nuh. Zilch. Sorry." said Garcia.

"What about women whose family members or loved ones recently got engaged?" asked Tara as Garcia's computer beeped.

"Hey, here's something. There's a local woman, Nicole Seavers, who, according to social media, just got engaged last night. Here's her Instagram post." said Garcia, causing Spencer to look at Tara's tablet, "She owns a flower shop, Blossoms, and her new fiance happens to be a wedding photographer named Ryan Becker, working out of said shop."

"She doesn't have the physicality to be the unsub." said Tara.

"But the unsub could be someone close to Nicole. Garcia, we need to look at people in Nicole's immediate circle of family and friends." said Spencer.

* * *

A short while later Garcia was video conferencing with them.

"You guys, you guys, Nicole Seavers inherited the flower shop from her mother, who died a year ago. Her older sister, Dana Seavers also works there." said Garcia.

"So the mom left the shop to only the one daughter?" asked Rossi.

"That must have hurt Dana." said Tara.

"Is the father in the picture?" asked Hotch.

"No. He left when they were little. This is the part of the story that is disturbing and sad at the same time. So, you know how Nicole and Ryan got engaged last night? Well, 3 months ago, Dana set up a wedding registry." said Garcia.

"She must have known in advance about her sister getting engaged. Maybe the boyfriend enlisted her help." said Spencer.

"No, the wedding registry isn't for Nicole and Ryan, it's for Dana and Ryan, and according to Dana's credit cards, she's been buying stuff off the wedding registry and sending them to herself." said Garcia.

"Ok, so she must be suffering from psychosis, confusing what is real with her own little fantasy world." said Morgan.

"This isn't just psychosis. This is a psychotic delusion based on Ryan Becker." said Spencer.

"And then when another woman threatens that delusion, she suffers a psychotic break." said Tara.

"Dana's her sister Nicole got engaged to Ryan, which means Nicole is Dana's next victim." said Rossi.

"Garcia, we need addresses for the floral shop and for both sisters." said Hotch.

"Dana and Nicole both live above the flower shop. Sending now." said Garcia.

"Thanks." said Hotch as he, Spencer, Morgan, Rossi, and Tara headed out the door.

* * *

Hotch tried opening up the door before looking at Morgan.

"Morgan." said Hotch.

Morgan used a tool so he wouldn't do damage to the glass door, and less than a minute later Spencer was helping his teammates clear the shop.

"Clear!" shouted Hotch.

Spencer looked through a curtain.

"Clear!" shouted Spencer.

Hotch and Rossi checked the basement.

"Clear!" shouted Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was donning latex free gloves in Dana's bedroom.

"Look at this place." said Tara.

"Clutter or the constant presence of a messy room is often a sign of depression." said Spencer as Tara grabbed a journal and looked at it.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Becker. Mrs. Dana Becker, Dana and Ryan Becker." she created a checklist for her life together with Ryan. Farmhouse, a chocolate lab, and two kids named Megan and Jake." said Tara as Spencer noticed a pill bottle and held it up.

"Look at this, bupropion. It's an antidepressant. This was dispensed 6 months ago, but the bottle's sill full." said Spencer as he noticed other medication, "Trinessa. Metformin. Spironolactone?"

"That's an interesting combination of meds. Those are typically used to treat a hormone imbalance." said Tara.

Spencer thought of a disorder he learned about when he looked through pamphlets at the OB-GYN appointments he attended with Olivia when he was able to attend.

"It sounds to me like Dana has polycystic ovaries syndrome. It can cause obesity, excess hair growth, acne, and depression." said Spencer.

"PCOS is fairly common in teen girls and young women." said Tara.

"It sadly affects one in 10 women of reproductive age. The good news is, it's treatable." said Spencer.

"Ok, but it's PCOS. It didn't turn Dana into a killer." said Tara.

At that moment Spencer thought about how he had to deal with unsubs who have schizophrenia.

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying it might have contributed to her becoming depressed." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer, Tara, and Morgan were meeting downstairs with Hotch and Rossi.

"Anything upstairs to tell us where she might have taken Nicole?" asked Hotch.

"Nothing. But if Nicole is engaged to Dana's true love, Dana could go over the edge. We don't have a lot of time." said Morgan.

Spencer noticed the flowers and started naming them.

"African violets, Chinese hibiscus, roses, lilies, and orchids." said Spencer.

"What are you thinking, kid?" asked Rossi.

"They're all fresh flowers, but in order for all these varieties to thrive in this climate, they'd need a controlled environment." said Spencer.

"They've got a greenhouse. Dave, you and Reid stay here in case they come back." said Hotch.

Hotch, Morgan, and Tara left the flower shop.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was sitting on the couch reading a book when Morgan gave Tara a cup of coffee.

"Here you go." said Morgan.

"Thank you." said Tara.

At that moment Rossi noticed Tara's engagement ring, causing him to think of Olivia's bridal set.

"Wow, so that's where the sun went. Nice rock." said Rossi as he examined Tara's engagement ring.

"Thank you." said Tara as she started to twist her engagement ring.

"Uh-oh. Trouble in paradise?" asked Rossi.

"Uh, no. I love him. I really do. It's just, um... This job makes things..." said Tara.

"Complicated?" asked an understanding Morgan.

At that moment Spencer looked up from his book.

"What's complicated?" asked Spencer.

At that moment Rossi looked at the only team member on the jet who was sporting a wedding band at the moment.

"Relationships." said Rossi before looking at Tara and whispered, "You're not the only one, Tara. So, Morgan, when are you and Savannah walking down the aisle?" asked Rossi as he said the last question louder for everyone to hear.

Spencer smirked at Morgan as he looked at his own wedding band.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. Baby steps. Baby steps. What are we doing?" asked Morgan as he held up his hands.

"When Derek Morgan says "I do," it'll be a national day of mourning for single women everywhere." teased Spencer with a smile on his face.

At that moment Rossi pointed at Morgan while Tara laughed at Spencer's comment.

"Just don't elope." said Rossi as he gave Spencer a slight glare since he was wanting to host either Spencer's wedding or the reception.

"Wow. Sounds like there's a story there." said Tara.

Spencer chuckled since Rossi already told him the story.

"Oh, there is." said Hotch as he looked up with a slight smirk on his face.

"I married the third ex Mrs. Rossi at a drive-in wedding chapel in Las Vegas. I had an Elvis impersonator perform the ceremony." said Rossi.

"You're kidding." said Tara.

"Wait for it." said Hotch.

"I'm playing twenty-one. I've got a streak going, I can't lose even if I try. Krystall's the dealer. One thing leads to another... I should have known it wouldn't last. Krystall spelled her name with a "K" and two Ls." said Rossi as Spencer and Tara smiled and chuckled, "We sobered up the next morning, the divorce was just as quick. I will never make that mistake again."

"What, get married, or have the King of Rock 'n' Roll as your justice of the peace?" asked Morgan.

"Both." said Rossi before he decided to impersonate Elvis Presley, "Thank you very much."

Everyone started laughing, and when they stopped, Morgan looked at Spencer.

"A lot of female agents ended up mourning when they found out about Olivia." said Morgan.

"You were the one to tell me to never date a woman who carried a gun." shot back Spencer, causing even more laughter.

"How long have you been married?" asked Tara.

"Olivia and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary on September 24th, and after having three kids who will drive Olivia and me crazy we're still going strong since our fourth child is already on its way." smiled Spencer.

"You and Olivia are practically rabbits." said Morgan.

Spencer glared at Morgan.

"It's not my fault that twins runs through my mother's side of the family, and there are agents like Simmons and Garrett from the International Response Team who are brave enough to have four or more kids while having to travel all over the world." said Spencer.

At that moment Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Nice one, Spencer." said Rossi.

At that moment Tara looked at Spencer.

"How did you meet your wife?" asked Tara.

"Back in May of 2011, the BAU was facing budget cuts and I had to decide if I wanted to stay in the BAU or accept one of they many job offer I get." said Spencer.

"And you mentioning that Olivia worked at Cal-tech before teaching at Georgetown. You met her in Pasadena?" asked Tara.

Spencer nodded.

"I ended up taking a four month long sabbatical in Pasadena, and three of those months were teaching Chemistry at Cal-tech while the other month involved guest lecturing at Georgetown." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Prior to my sabbatical I was dealing with stress related migraines for over six months, and everyone including the doctor that I was seeing for my headaches was convincing me to take some time off since I had about a year's worth of vacation time saved up."

"And that sabbatical did you some good, kid." said Morgan.

"I know because I met Olivia during my first day in Pasadena. I was sitting in a coffee shop reading my chemistry text book and jotting down notes when I heard a female voice saying "excuse me, do you really read that fast?"" said Spencer.

"And you two hit it off right away." said Tara.

"We ended up talking for a few hours, causing us to find out that we had a lot in common when it came to practicing the same religion, growing up in the southwest, having PhDs in mathematics, hobbies, and interests. We were practically inseparable, and she decided to accept a job offer at Georgetown University since she always wanted to live in DC, causing me to ask her out." said Spencer.

"How long did you date her before asking her to become Dr. Olivia Reid?" asked Tara.

"Four months, and the day before I was due to return to the BAU I asked her to marry me." said Spencer.

"You dated Olivia for four months before popping the question?" asked Tara.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"So what was your wedding like?" asked Tara.

"We ended up doing a simple registration of marriage in Las Vegas with my parents, aunt, and my mom's doctor as witnesses." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Tara.

"Reid and Olivia were very sneaky the weekend they headed to Vegas since Reid mentioned that his mom's doctor wanted to change her medication." said Morgan.

"My dad paid for the registration with cash while telling me that it was an early birthday present from him since I was 15 days away from turning 30." said Spencer.

"Who found out about your marriage first?" asked Tara.

"I did because the Clark County Court House faxed me a copy of Reid's marriage certificate to put into his personal file, and I decided to keep Reid's elopement a secret until he was ready to come clean." said Hotch.

"Garcia was second since I didn't want her to be yelling in front of everyone." said Spencer.

"And I was third." said Morgan before looking at Spencer, "We never got to do that bachelor party I was going to throw for you."

Spencer shook his head.

"Do you regret eloping?" asked Tara.

"Not at all since things were a bit rough when I returned from my sabbatical, and Livy didn't want the stress of planning a big wedding to give me a migraine." said Spencer before looking at Rossi, "Olivia and I were talking about having that formal wedding on our five year wedding anniversary next year, and if you want to host the wedding in your backyard, you can."

At that moment Rossi held up his hand.

"Consider it done, but for now you should just focus on Daniel's upcoming birth since Olivia's almost halfway through the pregnancy." said Rossi.

"I know." said Spencer.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer entered the house to see his dad and Olivia cuddling on the couch with all three pajama clad kids watching a movie, and as soon as the kids saw him they all shot off the couch and ran over to him.

"DADDY!" shouted Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once while Spencer knelt down to the kids eye level and hugged them.

"What movie are you guys watching?" asked Spencer.

"Rio 2." said Piper as she yawned.

"I guess it's time for bed." said Spencer as he noticed that all three kids were tired.

"They asked to stay up to see you home." said Olivia as she watched her husband scoop up Piper and Ava while William took charge of his grandson.

"Want me to read you girls a bedtime story?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." said Piper as she rested her head on her daddy's shoulder like Ava was currently doing.

"I will take care of your go bag." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer was tucking Piper and Ava into their beds, and after reading to them for five minutes, both girls were sleeping.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer and Olivia were taking a bubble bath together before heading to bed themselves.


	5. Outlaw

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to southernbeauty13 for being the 25th reviewer of this story and also a shout out to tannerose5, Hippichic81 OhSnapItsMadison, Chermayne, and Jasmine for reviewing chapter 4._

 _Let's just say that Olivia helped Spencer improve in speaking Spanish since she took Spanish and French in school._

* * *

Spencer exited Daniel's nursery and Olivia met up with him in the hallway.

"How's Daniel's nursery coming?" asked Olivia.

"You want to come look at the progress on the painting I'm doing?" asked Spencer.

"Sure." said Olivia.

A few seconds later Olivia was taking in the sight of the castle, knights, and dragons that Spencer painted on the light blue walls.

"I love it." said Olivia.

"I was thinking that maybe when Daniel's old enough to move in with Albert maybe we can turn this into a playroom." said Spencer.

"I think that's a great idea." said Olivia as she rested her hands on her 18 week pregnant belly and smiled when she felt a slight kick, "Even though Daniel can't see, I think he's telling me that he likes the idea of this room turning into a playroom as soon as he can move into his big brother's room."

At that moment Spencer rested his hands on Olivia's growing stomach and smiled when he felt a kick a minute later.

"Daddy loves you so much Daniel, so just keep on growing big and strong." said Spencer.

* * *

The next day Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates.

"Meet 20-year-old Jose Rivera, night manager at a place called Dee's Original Diner. And then this is Eddie Butler. He was 17. He was a fry cook, high school senior, basketball star. And finally Renee Acosta. She was 16 years old. She was a cashier at the restaurant, and she was a junior in high school. And they were all murdered last night just after closing. The safe and the cash register were both emptied, and all the victims' valuables were missing, too." said Garcia.

Spencer sighed sadly at the thought of two teenagers and a 20 year old being killed before they got to live their lives.

"Any surveillance video?" asked Rossi.

"No. Because the system burnt down in a fire that was set after the murders took place." said Garcia.

"The arson was probably just a forensic countermeasure." said Morgan.

"The coroner has the bodies right now and it looks like the cause of death to each was a gunshot wound to the head." said Garcia.

"Garcia, pause! Where did this happen?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, I was saving the worst for last." said Garcia.

At that moment Spencer realized the location as he thought about a past case.

"Las Vegas, New Mexico?" asked Spencer.

"Mm-hmm." nodded Garcia.

"Wait, what's the deal with Las Vegas, New Mexico?" asked Tara.

"The same exact type of robbery-homicide took place there 6 years ago." said Spencer as Garcia handed Tara some files.

"At that time it was at a place called the Burger Corral and there were 4 victims." said Garcia as Tara looked at pictures.

"Teenagers. They sexually assaulted the girls, then shot them execution style, robbed the place, and then burned it down to the ground." said Morgan.

"We consulted from here and the NCAVC coordinator in Santa Fe did the groundwork." said Hotch.

"Any suspects?" asked Tara.

"None, but we knew it was probably someone with a personal connection to the town." said Morgan.

"Problem was it's a pretty transient place. Tourists, truckers, and a lot of the work opportunities are seasonal." said Rossi.

"Given the level of violence, we profiled it was two or more criminally experienced unsubs, most likely under the influence of some type of narcotic, but the never struck again and the case went cold." said Spencer.

"Looks like it's hot now." said Rossi.

So are these guys back or is this somebody playing copycat?" asked Tara.

"That's what we need to find out. Wheels up in 30." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was pulling out his cellphone to call Olivia only to hear Piper's voice.

"Hi daddy." said Piper.

"Where's mommy, Piper?" asked Spencer as he noticed the slightly amused smile on Tara's face.

"She had to go potty, and when I saw your name I knew that I can answer." said Piper just as she saw her mommy come towards her, "Here's mommy." said Piper as she passed her mommy the cellphone.

"Have a case?" asked Olivia.

"Las Vegas, New Mexico." said Spencer.

"You know the rules about staying safe." said Olivia.

"I know, and I have a few minutes to talk to the kids." said Spencer.

At that moment Olivia put her phone on speaker.

"You stay safe, daddy." said Piper.

"I promise Piper," said Spencer as he realized that he didn't hear Albert and Ava, "Where are Albert and Ava?"

"Dad decided to take them to the zoo since Piper has gymnastics in an hour." said Olivia.

"Please make sure to send me videos." said Spencer.

"I will, and I should let you go since I have to get Piper ready." said Olivia.

A few seconds later Spencer was exchanging love yous with Olivia and Piper before hanging up, allowing him to make a quick phone call to his dad to talk to Albert and Ava before he headed to the jet with Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, and Tara.

* * *

"Las Vegas, New Mexico, was actually founded 70 years before its Nevada counterpart. In the late 19th century, it was a booming railroad hub with a reputation for lawlessness, and apparently, outlaws are a part of the town's genetics. Billy the Kid lived there, and Doc Holliday himself had a saloon there before going to meet Wyatt Earp in Tombstone." said Spencer.

"The more things change, the more things stay the same." said Rossi.

"All the victims in both instances were teenagers, except for Jose Rivera." said Tara.

"A younger staff, that's pretty typical for a night shift." said Morgan.

"The unsubs might have considered that. It would be easier to subdue a group of kids." said Rossi.

"Almost an identical M.O. Copycat or no, why go back to this town and do this again?" asked Tara.

"They could be sending some kind of message to announce their return." said Spencer.

"Or it just might be criminal ego. They got away with it the first time. Why not do it again?" asked Rossi.

"With unsubs this violent, how do you just disappear and go dormant for 6 years?" asked Morgan.

"They may have been in prison. That would explain the criminal experience." said Hotch.

"Crime U., best education taxpayer money can buy." said Rossi.

"When we land, I'll have Garcia compile a list of recently released convicts in the area. Morgan, you and Reid go to the coroner when we land. Lewis, you're with Dave and me at the local PD." said Hotch.

* * *

Spencer was reading off the clipboard as he stood in between two of the three bodies.

"Several antemortem wounds, facial lacerations, fractured jaw, a fractured skull." said Spencer.

"Yeah, it was a brutal beating. All 3 of them had broken ribs, too." said M.E. Jenkins.

"And ligature marks." said Spencer.

"Looks like the boys were bound with their own belts and electrical wires. I found leather and melted plastic in their clothes." said M.E. Jenkins before pointing at Renee's body, "Renee Acosta was different. There's evidence of sexual assault."

Spencer looked sadly at Renee's body as he thought about Piper and Ava.

"Any recoverable DNA?" asked Morgan.

"None. Whatever wasn't destroyed by the fire got washed away by the sprinklers. But she was recovered without clothes on. And based on the cotton and nylon fibers I found around her wrists, I think they restrained her with her own underwear." said M.E. Jenkins.

At that moment Spencer looked at Morgan.

"That's precisely what happened to the female victim 6 years ago." said Spencer.

"Those details weren't released to the press. These aren't copycats. These are the same guys." said Morgan.

* * *

Spencer stood at the cork board and stared at the pictures of the victims and the crime scenes as the wheels in his brain turned before quickly walking away from the board to grab the rest of his team as soon as he made a connection.

"6 years ago the unsubs separated the victims by gender. The bodies of the boys were found out by the register, the two girls were found in the back office." said Spencer.

"Yeah, we profiled that was about control. Isolate the males who were more of a threat." said Morgan.

"Exactly. They even blindfolded them. But they didn't do that this time. No blindfolds, and the 3 victims were found in the same area, all within a few feet of each other." said Spencer.

"Dee's Original Diner had a back office. Why didn't they use it?" asked Rossi.

"And look at the body position. The victims from 6 years ago were prone, like they were shot while kneeling." said Spencer as he pointed at the pictures.

"But Jose Rivera and Eddie Butler were both sitting up." said Morgan.

"Maybe they posed them that way." said Tara.

"I don't think so. Ballistics suggest they were seated when they were shot, and look at the way they're facing. It's like they wanted them to see each other." said Spencer.

"Not see. Watch." said Rossi as Spencer rested his hands on the back of a chair.

"You think they made the boys watch the sexual assault?" asked Tara.

"Well, if they did, they probably made her watch the murders." said Morgan.

"Psychological sadism." said Tara.

"A ritual aspect. That's new." said Rossi.

"And very specific. Why didn't they do this before?" asked Tara.

"Well, they could be evolving." said Morgan.

"Or it's possible only one of them was involved 6 years ago." said Spencer.

"Which would mean he has a new partner." said Rossi.

* * *

Spencer watched the surveillance footage with Morgan on Morgan's tablet.

"He's looking for methamphetamine hydrochloride." said Spencer.

"He cleaned out the cash register, too. There was only one of them. Where's the partner?" asked Morgan as Rossi approached them.

"That's a huge risk to stay in town and pull this so soon." said Rossi.

"They're meth addicts, though. The risk may be of little consequence." said Spencer as he made a mental note to attend the next Beltway Clean Cops meeting after the case.

"6 years ago they up and disappeared. This one doesn't seem like part of their playbook. My money says it's the new guy." said Rossi.

"Well, he was smart enough to hide his face and he didn't burn the place down. We still have to wait for the autopsy, but, she's fully clothed. Doesn't look like there was sexual assault either." said Morgan.

"But he still made them watch. Look. He positions them so they're facing each other. That aspect is important to him, almost compulsive." said Rossi just as Chief Montoya walked past them.

"You think he's ok?" asked Morgan.

"No. I don't. His job is to keep this community safe, and now he feels responsible." said Rossi.

* * *

Spencer was sitting at the conference room table with Hotch when Morgan's phone rang.

"Hey. What you got cookin', baby girl?" asked Morgan.

"Besides the fact that I'm all hopped up on dark roast and Espresso beans? I have Intel to share. 'Tis why I have called thee. Deep background search into Lester Turner brought me down into a wicked place. Turned out he shared a cell block with a Benjamin Wade and a William Duke Mason." said Garcia.

"What's so-" asked Morgan.

"Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh! you know better than to interrupt me when I'm all 'fiened out. You're gonna ask me what is so sinisterly special about Wade and Mason, and I'm going to tell you. They were messed up bikers, who, 5 years ago were arrested in El Paso for an armed robbery at a gas station where the clerk was killed. It turns out they tried to torch the place, but the cops came and caught them." said Garcia.

"All right, can you send-." said Morgan.

"Stop it. check your tablets. It's already there." said Garcia as Hotch checked one of the tablets.

"Can I ask a question now?" asked Morgan.

"Definitely not, because that's not the kicker. Get this. Before he dropped out of high school and ran away, William Duke Mason spent his junior year in what New Mexico town? Yes, you may talk now." said Garcia.

"Las Vegas." said Morgan.

"Precisely! See, Mason's name was on that list of ex-cons, but it wasn't flagged because he's actually from Dallas, and high school records weren't part of my search parameters, you guys." said Garcia.

At that moment Spencer decided to be brave to speak.

"Garcia, where are Wade and Mason now?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, I can tell you that definitely. Wade is still in prison because he was the shooter in that robbery, but Mason was paroled last month." said Garcia.

"Lewis and I will fly to Texas and talk to Wade. Let's put out an APB on Turner and Mason." said Hotch as he got up.

* * *

"William Duke Mason's mother Violet moved here from Dallas after she married a rancher named Jeff Koldyke, who worked for the Romero property for a short time." said Rossi.

"Don't remember any of them." said Montoya.

"It's not surprising you don't remember Mason. As a teenager, he would have been withdrawn." said Spencer.

"Especially because we think he hated it here. He was already fatherless, and then he was uprooted and dragged to a new place where he had no friends." said Rossi.

"As a teenager, that can be traumatic and may somehow be a source of animosity towards the town itself." said Spencer.

"Who's that guy?" asked another officer.

"His name is Ben Wade. We actually have reason to believe that he was involved in the Burger Corral murder 6 years ago." said Morgan.

"5 years go, Wade and Mason were arrested in Texas. So we know they were partners back then." said Rossi.

"Then in prison they met Lester Turner. Turner gets released and a few months later Mason gets out. A partnership is born." said Morgan.

"A lot of criminal ego in play. So we think they may have come back here in order to emulate the success they had with their old partnership." said Rossi.

"They're methamphetamine users, so it's likely the limbic systems in their brains have been damaged. This is disconcerting, because it can dramatically alter behavior and give rise to a series of psychopathic tendencies and eventually turn into full-blown psychosis." said Spencer.

"The dynamic between Turner and Mason is rare like two alpha males coexisting." said Rossi.

"They must have some kind of respect and/or fear thing that's keeping them together." said Morgan.

"But it's a tenuous bond." said Spencer.

"A rift will grow between these two if it hasn't already. In fact, we're counting on it. Hopefully, they'll make a mistake. Thank you." finished Rossi.

"All right. Let's get to it." said Montoya.

"Definitely." said an officer.

At that moment Spencer, Rossi, and Morgan watched Montoya accidentally spill his coffee.

"Oh! Damn it." said Montoya before leaving the room and Rossi looked at Spencer and Morgan.

"Let me talk to him and you two call home and check on your girls." said Rossi.

Four minutes later Spencer was smiling at the smiling faces of Olivia and the kids on his tablet.

"Hi daddy." said Piper.

"Hey there, Goober." said Spencer.

"Hi daddy." said Albert.

"Hey there, buckaroo." said Spencer.

"Hi daddy." said Ava.

"Hey there, my little birdie." said Spencer.

"You come home?" asked Albert.

"Not yet buddy, but when I come home what do you three say about having a sleepover with mommy and I?" asked Spencer as he gave Olivia a look to tell her that he needs to keep the kids close.

"You win Spencer, but you owe me a massage." said Olivia.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava in unison.

Spencer listened to Piper, Albert, and Ava tell him about their day so far, and after listening to them for 10 minutes he looked at his kids.

"Well, daddy has to get back to work." said Spencer and exchanged goodbyes with the kids before disconnecting with the Skype call.

* * *

A few hours later Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Since you understand Spanish better than me, how about you interview the father and son." said Morgan.

"OK." said Spencer as he headed towards the father and son with an officer, "My name is Spencer and I'm with the FBI, and please forgive me if my pronunciation in Spanish isn't perfect." said Spencer in Spanish as he showed the little boy his badge and let him hold it.

"I understand what you're saying." said the father in Spanish.

"I need to ask you two some questions." said Spencer in Spanish and decided to a quick magic trick to get the boy to laugh before he started asking questions in Spanish.

* * *

As soon as Morgan came outside, Spencer decided to stop the interview and looked at the father.

"Thank you so much." said Spencer before looking at the little boy who made him think about Albert and his unborn son, "Thank you, man, you've been so helpful. Can I get a high five?" asked Spencer as he held out his hand and the boy eagerly returned the high five. "Yeah!" said Spencer before he gave the father a pat on the back as the father and son walked away with the officer, allowing him to approach Morgan.

"All the surveillance has been destroyed. What'd the father say?" asked Morgan.

"There were two of them. Both on motorcycles, both matching the descriptions of Turner and Mason." said Spencer.

"They let them live. I wonder why." said Morgan.

"They said the one with the short hair just stood there pointing his weapon but never pulled the trigger." said Spencer.

"That must have been Mason." said Morgan as he slipped on his sunglasses.

"Apparently the other one wanted to shoot them, Mason wouldn't let him, they had a brief argument and then fled. But here's the thing- they've never left a survivor before. I think something between them must have changed. If they were arguing, it could mean the partnership's dissolving, exactly like we thought." said Spencer.

"These guys are headed south, maybe Mexico. We should alert border patrol." said Morgan before he and Spencer headed to the SUV where Morgan looked at Spencer, "So did you show that little boy a few magic tricks?"

"I did, and I ended up telling the father that I have three kids and another on the way." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer approached Morgan and Rossi.

"Hotch is out coordinating roadblocks and canvassing the area, but so far, nothing." said Spencer.

"Why switch directions and risk coming all the way back here?" asked Morgan.

"He's strung out and believes that boy Cole is his son. He's capable of anything." said Rossi.

"We should extend the Amber alert." said Spencer as he realized that he was glad to ask Olivia to have the kids sleep with them when he gets back home.

At that moment Montoya approached them.

"Agents! Tammy Vasquez' pickup truck was spotted heading south on Route 34." said Montoya.

"Is that far from here?" asked Rossi.

"About 10 miles or so. State police have major roadways on the other end blocked off so he can't get out, but it cuts through the Santa Fe National Forest. If he knows what he's doing, he can hole up out there for weeks." said Montoya.

"Where would he go to access fresh water?" asked Morgan.

"There's an old abandoned campground. It doesn't get used much. Sometimes the kids go up there to drink." said Montoya.

"He'd want to go someplace familiar." said Rossi.

"Agents, if you don't mind me making a suggestion... I know that place like the back of my hand. My dad used to take me hunting up there." said Montoya as he showed a map, "Look, here's the campground." said Montoya as he started giving directions, causing Rossi to look at Spencer and Morgan.

"I just hope that you two have extra ammo, just in case." said Rossi.

* * *

As soon as Spencer was in his place, Morgan decided to announce their presence.

"FBI, drop the weapon!" shouted Morgan.

"I ain't goin' back to jail, man. Whoo!" shouted Lester as he shot at everyone to take cover before Tara was able to get Tammy and Cole to safety while Spencer and Morgan participated in the shoot out, "Blaze of glory, man! Blaze of glory!" shouted Lester as Spencer returned fire before Montoya was able to do a sniper shot on Lester.

"Lester!" shouted Duke.

After a minute of no shooting, Duke decided to return fire, causing Spencer and Morgan to fire back despite Spencer getting a non fatal shot before Montoya shot Duke again, causing the shootout to be over.

* * *

An hour after getting on the jet Spencer was trying to read his book when Hotch came and sat across from him.

"You OK?" asked Hotch quietly.

"Just looking forward to the sleepover that the kids are going to have with Olivia and me tonight since I told Olivia that I really need to keep the kids close to me." said Spencer.

"I understand since there were times that I had Jack sleep with me after cases that dealt with kids, and now he says that he's too old to sleep with me." said Hotch.

"I know that for now I just have to cherish how young my kids are before they state that they're too old to sleep with Olivia and I." said Spencer.

"Speaking of your kids, have you and Olivia discussed Halloween costumes yet for trick or treating next week?" asked Hotch.

"It's a surprise, and let's just say that we only had to go shopping for wigs for our costumes since Olivia, the kids, and I already have clothes that will work for our costumes without having to go shopping." said Spencer.

* * *

The next night Spencer was fixing himself some coffee at Beltway Clean Cops when John approached him.

"It's been a couple of months since I've seen you here." said John.

"I've been busy when it comes to work and my home life, and if you heard the rumor mill you probably know why I've been busier." said Spencer.

"Quantico message boards mentioned that you and your wife are expecting baby number four and it's a boy." said John with a smile.

"We are, and my birthday dinner two weeks ago also served as the gender reveal since Olivia asked her doctor not to tell her the gender and just put it into my birthday card from the kids." said Spencer.

"How far is she now?" asked John.

"18 weeks, and I actually got to feel DJ kick for the first time on my birthday." said Spencer/

"DJ?" asked John.

"Daniel after my late uncle Daniel," said Spencer before his face saddened a bit, "And Jason after the Jason who convinced me to move out east."

"Not John after me?" asked a teasing John as he looked at the young man he became fond of over the past eight years.

"Olivia was the one to pick out Daniel's middle name while I picked out the first name." said Spencer.

"So how have you been doing since your former mentor's death?" asked John.

"I'm doing OK since my dad, Olivia, the kids, and my teammates helped me get through it, but I am glad that he did come back into my life even if he's been part of my life for three years." said Spencer.

"Speaking of your kids, do you have any new photos or videos that you want to show me?" asked John.

Spencer pulled out his phone and a minute later John was watching a video of Piper doing back handsprings on a trampoline.

"Impressive for a three year old." said John.

"I know, and at two years old Ava's already a music prodigy." said Spencer as he showed a video of Ava playing the piano, "This was a month ago when Ava was watching me play with intense focus, and when I got up to check on dinner in the oven she climbed onto the bench and just started playing the tune I was playing."

"Thinking that she might get into Julliard?" asked John.

"Most likely." said Spencer as he showed a video of Albert playing with his basketball, "And Albert has been showing interest in basketball, and luckily basketball is a sport that I like since I helped coach the basketball team in high school." said Spencer as his cellphone vibrated and he saw a text from Olivia.

ARE YOU ON YOUR WAY HOME YET? YOUR DAD AND I JUST PUT THE KIDS TO SLEEP, AND I WANT US TO TAKE A BUBBLE BATH TOGETHER. ~ OR

"Everything OK?" asked John.

"Yeah, and Olivia was wondering when I'm going to be on my way home." said Spencer.

"Since the meeting is over, why don't you go home to your wife and the next time you come to a meeting I want to see pictures of the Halloween costumes that you, Olivia, and the kids wear this year." said John as he thought about the pictures he saw from the past three Halloweens.

"I promise." said Spencer before he walked away.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer and Olivia were soaking in their bathtub.

* * *

 _A/N: Next chapter will reveal the Halloween costumes that Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava will be wearing for Halloween of 2015._


	6. The Night Watch

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, OhSnapItsMadison, Hippichic81, southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 5._

 _Here's a warning that tissues will be needed soon due to what storyline is coming up, and in this chapter you will notice that I'm doing the upcoming storyline a little bit different than having Spencer tell his teammates in chapter seven which will deal with Target Rich since I know that it doesn't hurt for Spencer to end up giving Hotch a heads up that he's going to need to take time off._

* * *

Spencer was coming out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist when he saw Olivia eagerly sitting on the bed only wearing lavender lingerie, causing him to groan as he made his way to her.

"I see that my plan worked." smirked Olivia as she quickly removed the towel from around his waist.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were passionately making out in bed.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast Spencer looked at his wife.

"So when do you see Dr. Carter for your 20 week ultrasound and exam?" asked Spencer.

"Next week Friday at 4:30 PM, and I think that we should all go." said Olivia before she looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava, "Do you guys want to hear Daniel's heartbeat?"

"Yes." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once.

"I will let Hotch know that I will be leaving work early that day if I don't have a case." said Spencer.

* * *

An hour and a half later Spencer was standing by Rossi.

"So Yogi Berra arrives at spring training and the equipment manager says to him, what's size cap do you wear? And Yogi says, "I don't know, I'm not in shape yet."" said a smiling Rossi.

"Uh-huh?" asked a smiling Spencer.

"That's it. That's the joke." said Rossi.

"But studies have shown that dimensional changes in the human head actually can fluctuate, especially in the third decade of life." said Spencer as Tara approached them and slapped Rossi with her case file.

"Morning, guys. How do I look?" asked Tara as Spencer opened up his messenger bag.

"You look great." said Rossi as they started walking to the conference room.

"Went on a diet last night, lost 185 pounds." said Tara as Spencer and Rossi exchanged glances.

A few seconds later they entered the conference room and Rossi looked at Garcia.

"What do we have?" asked Rossi.

"Ok, you know the phrase "art imitates life"? This is like that but a dead version." said Garcia as she showed a picture on the monitor, "This happened last night in Detroit. And if I can direct your attention to the signature."

"Is that Morpheus?" asked Spencer as he thought about one of the artists that both he and Olivia are fans of.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Who?" asked Morgan.

"He's a prolific street artist who's been active since the summer of 2007. He began using primarily stencils and wheat paste, but in recent years he's moved on to more site specific installation work." said Spencer.

"The kicker-no one knows who Morpheus really is." said Garcia.

"Like that British graffiti artist- what's-his-face?" asked Rossi.

"Banksy." said Hotch.

"That's the one." said Rossi.

Hotch pulled a picture out of a file and passed it to Spencer who held it so Tara could look.

"This is the only known photograph of Morpheus. This was taken 7 years ago in Los Angeles." said Hotch.

"No, that's no help. That could be anyone." said Tara.

"Do we know who the victim is?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Russell Pearson. He's a community activist who's been in the local news a lot for opposing a controversial development project that's supposed to revitalize the downtown area." said Garcia.

"What's so controversial about the project?" asked Morgan.

"Gentrification. Lower income residents are displaced by luxury condos." said Hotch.

"Good bet the only thing being revitalized are the developers' bank accounts." said Rossi.

"Morpheus has always sort of been the voice of the underdog. I'd assume that he and Pearson were on the same side of this issue." said Spencer.

"Normally, yes, but Pearson, 3 days ago, was in the news again for all the wrong reasons. He was accused of taking bribes from the very developers he was organizing against." said Garcia.

"So this could be a dose of street justice." said Tara.

"Has this Morpheus ever committed an act of violence before?" asked Morgan.

"No, he's always advocated for civil disobedience." said Spencer.

"Well, how do we know it's even him?" asked Morgan.

"Morgan's right. Morpheus may beat the war drums, but so far that's all he's done." said Garcia.

"Regardless, tensions are already high in Detroit, and this is only going to make things worse. Wheels up in 20." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was calling Olivia as he headed to his desk.

"You have a case?" asked Olivia.

"Going to Detroit, Michigan." said Spencer just as he heard rustling before Olivia put the phone on speaker.

"You have case daddy?" asked Piper.

"I'm going to Detroit, Michigan." said Spencer.

"Please stay safe daddy." said Piper.

"I promise, Goober." said Spencer just as he heard Albert and Ava greet him and spent a few minutes listening to his kids before telling them and Olivia that he loves them before hanging up just as Tara looked at him.

"How are those kids of yours?" asked Tara.

"They're excited about going Trick or Treating on Saturday and Olivia, the kids, and I are joining Hotch, Jack, Will, and Henry for Trick or Treating." said Spencer.

"Olivia must be excited about some of the candy getting to help her pregnancy cravings." said Tara.

Spencer snorted as he thought about how gross some of Olivia's cravings have been lately.

"Yesterday Olivia decided to add jalapeños to everything she ate, and luckily when it came to being born and raised in the southwest I'm always able to handle spicy foods." said Spencer.

* * *

"Between his activism and bribe-taking, Russell Pearson had no shortage of enemies." said Rossi.

"Well, Morpheus isn't too subtle with his symbolism. You stick your nose in the cookie jar, you pay the price." said Morgan.

"How long has Morpheus been in Detroit?" asked Tara.

"Oh, I can answer that question. Morpheus first popped up in the city 6 weeks ago. I'm sending video to your tablet right now." said Garcia.

At that moment Tara looked at the video.

"Vehicle as barbecue. What's that about?" asked Tara.

"There was a heatwave in Detroit in August and a homeless woman and her child locked themselves in a car to sleep and died of dehydration." said Hotch.

"Morpheus has done two more pieces. The second one he took credit for, but it was dismantled by a rival artist before anyone could see it." said Spencer.

"Didn't realize it was that cutthroat." said Rossi.

"Yeah, competition among street artists is intense. It's like turf wars." said Spencer.

"Well, according to this, Morpheus has a website where he always posts his work." said Morgan.

"Yeah, that's right. He doesn't post any comments. It's through a proxy server, so it's impossible to trace." said Garcia.

"He took credit for the first 3 pieces in Detroit, but there's been nothing on the website about the Russell Pearson murder." said Hotch.

"Because he didn't do it?" asked Morgan.

"Or because this time it involved murder." said Rossi.

At that moment there was some beeping.

"Oh, no." said Garcia.

"What is it, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"Uh, something is terribly wrong. A child's been abducted in Detroit. Corinne Wallace, 8-month-old daughter of Stuart and Katherine Wallace." said Garcia.

At that moment Spencer recognized the name.

"Stuart Wallace is one of the developers behind the urban renovation project." said Spencer as he made a mental note to ask Olivia to send him pictures of the kids since the case now deals with children.

"And there was graffiti and Morpheus' signature on the walls of the baby's nursery." said Garcia.

"Has there been a ransom demand?" asked Tara.

"I don't know. It just happened like 30 minutes ago." said Garcia.

"All right, when we land, Dave, you and Lewis go to the abduction site. Morgan, see if you can locate the rival artist who took down Morpheus' work. Reid and I will go to the P.D., we'll contact the regional CARD team and get set up there. And, Garcia." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir?" asked Garcia.

"Your sole job is to find out the identity of Morpheus. Use every resource you have available. Finding him is our best chance of finding the child." said Hotch.

Spencer pulled out his phone and sent Olivia a text message.

I NEED THE KIDS TO SLEEP WITH US WHEN I GET HOME, AND I REALLY NEED SOME NEW PICTURES OF THE KIDS SO CAN YOU PLEASE SEND ME SOME ASAP? ~ SR

At that moment Tara looked at Spencer.

"You OK?" asked Tara.

"Ever since becoming a dad cases that dealt with kids have gotten harder for me, and when it comes to Olivia being one week away from being halfway through her third pregnancy it just sucks that a baby is now involved." said Spencer just as his phone vibrated and he smiled softly at the picture of Piper, Albert, and Ava all grinning for the picture with a text message from Olivia.

WE WILL HAVE THE KIDS SLEEP WITH US WHEN YOU GET HOME, AND PLEASE STAY SAFE. PIPER, ALBERT, AVA, DJ WHO HAS BEEN KICKING A FEW TIMES THE PAST 1O MINUTES, AND I ALL LOVE YOU. ~ OR

"New picture of the kids?" asked Hotch.

"I ended up asking Olivia to take a photo of the kids and send one to me." said Spencer as he passed his phone to Hotch.

"I just can't believe how big all three kids are getting every time I see them in person or in the new pictures you show me." said Hotch as he looked at his three year old goddaughter who has definitely inherited her daddy's smile.

"I know, and Piper's excited about you and Jack joining in on Trick or Treating this Saturday." said Spencer.

"Not going to reveal the theme for this years Halloween costumes yet?" asked Rossi.

"I have been sworn to secrecy, and I really don't want to be a victim to Livy's raging pregnancy hormones right now." said Spencer.

"So when is Olivia's 20 week ultrasound?" asked Hotch.

"Next week Friday at 4:30 PM, and if we aren't on a case I was hoping that I could leave early that day." said Spencer.

"If we're not on a case you can leave early." said Hotch.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was working on a geographical profile when Hotch came into the room.

"What have we got?" asked Hotch.

"I've been working with Garcia to track the locations of Morpheus' street art over the past 8 years. This is a geographic timeline I put together." said Spencer as he pointed at the map of the United States that he asked for.

"Is there a pattern?" asked Hotch as he thought about how much the team is going to miss having their youngest agent working with them when he goes on paternity leave.

"Not really. He mainly just criss-crosses between Los Angeles and New York. He's never really in one place for a very long time. There is a higher concentration of activity along the Gulf coast of Florida, though." said Spencer as he walked to the table.

"That could be some sort of home base." said Hotch as he noticed his youngest agent looking through a book, "What are you looking for?"

"I noticed in Morpheus' early work there's a synthetic cubist spatial construction reminiscent of de Kooning." said Spencer.

"So you're thinking he had some formal art education." said Hotch.

Spencer spoke as he paged through a paperback book.

"Exactly. And I'm hoping to be able to track it to a specific university or school of training." said Spencer.

"Good." said Hotch just as Morgan entered the room.

"Well, it took a while, but I finally tracked down the artist who took credit for dismantling Morpheus' work. Markus Ivey. He's on his way in for questioning now. Anything on the missing baby?" asked Morgan as he looked at the two of the three fathers of the team.

"Not yet." said Hotch.

"What's this guy thinking? Murder, kidnapping a child. He had to know that law enforcement was gonna come down on him like a ton of bricks." said Morgan.

"It's got to be personal." said Hotch.

"I'm just curious as to if Morpheus intends to remain anonymous after this." said Spencer as he thought about one of his favorite street artists.

"If he doesn't, it's got to be an endgame, and whatever it is, consequences don't matter." said Hotch.

At that moment Spencer's phone vibrated, and he saw that it was Bennington Sanitarium. He looked at Hotch while keeping a neutral look on his face.

"I have to take this call." said Spencer before walking away as he answered his cellphone, "Dr. Reid." answered Spencer as he stepped outside.

"It's Dr. Jesson." said Dr. Jesson.

"Is my mom OK?" asked Spencer.

"She just got sedated five minutes ago, and I'm letting you know that I'm about to change your mom's medication tonight." said Dr. Jesson.

"This is the third time since Piper's birthday." said Spencer.

"I know, but I think that you should really come out much sooner before Thanksgiving and probably stay in Vegas for a couple of weeks." said Dr. Jesson as she thought about how Diana briefly forgot that her son is married with three kids and a fourth on the way.

At that moment a sighing Spencer sat down on a bench.

"Right now I'm on a case, and if I was going to come out it would definitely have to be at least two more weeks since I have a teammate who will be returning from maternity leave on the 9th and Olivia has her 20 week ultrasound next week Friday and I don't want to miss it." said Spencer.

"I understand that you're busy with work and your wife and kids at the moment, but I think you should really consider coming out since I know that you can figure things out much better than me." said Dr. Jesson.

"Well I have to get going since I'm working a murder and child abduction case, and I will talk to my boss about needing to take some time off in a couple of weeks." said Spencer.

"I will let you get back to helping your team find that child." said Dr. Jesson before hanging up.

Spencer sat for another minute before heading back inside where Hotch was going through some files. Hotch looked at his youngest agent who looked a bit stressed at the moment.

"Everything OK?" asked Hotch and he gave Spencer a look to tell the truth instead of steering the conversation he's starting to another topic.

"I really don't know since my mom's been a bit more confused and agitated lately causing her to be sedated, and her medication ended up getting changed again." said Spencer.

"How many times has your mom's medication been changed again?" asked Hotch.

"Three times since Piper's birthday." said Spencer.

Hotch was about to open up his mouth when Spencer spoke up.

"I know that you're thinking about telling me that as soon as Morpheus is caught and Corinne is found I should head out to Vegas to help my mom, and her doctor mentioned that I might need to stay in Vegas for a couple of weeks so I want to wait until JJ comes back on the 9th so you guys aren't two agents down. And knowing dad, Olivia, and the kids they are all going to want to come along since it's been planned that Thanksgiving is spent in Vegas so I would have to wait until after Olivia's 20 week ultrasound." said Spencer.

"OK." said Hotch as he understood his youngest agent's logic.

"Are you sure that I can afford taking a couple of weeks off even though as soon as Daniel's born I'm disappearing for a month to adjust to being a father to four kids?" asked Spencer.

"You can afford to take this time off since your mother needs you, and when we get back to Quantico we can get started on that paperwork so everything is all set for when you start leave." said Hotch.

"Thanks, but can you please not tell anyone about what's going on since I want to talk to my dad and Olivia first?" asked Spencer.

"I can." said Hotch as he made a mental note to make sure that Spencer's on leave until after New Years so both Thanksgiving and Christmas could be spent in Las Vegas.

After that, both men decided to focus on the case.

* * *

Spencer stood in the warehouse with Hotch, Rossi, and Tara when Hotch finished up a phone call.

"Thanks." said Hotch before looking at his team, "The Wallaces confirmed the stuffed animal is the one missing from their daughter's nursery." said Hotch as he thought about how Piper always carries the doll that he got her.

"This is a major shift in M.O., behind closed doors instead of out in the street, nothing overtly political." said Rossi.

"It almost feels like some sort of taunt." said Spencer.

"Elaborate staging this time, too. The lullaby, the empty bassinet." said Tara.

"There's no doubt this is personal. It's not about gentrification. This is about the baby." said Hotch.

"Absent child. The abducted baby could be a projection of the unsub himself." said Spencer as he thought about DJ who is going to be born in 21 weeks.

"Markus had to know something." said Tara.

"Or not. He might have just been an unwilling participant in a bigger endgame." said Rossi.

At that moment Hotch looked at the agent who has admitted to enjoying seeing some of Morpheus's work.

"Reid, do you have the photographs of Morpheus' artwork?" asked Hotch.

Spencer reached into his messenger bag and passed the photos to Hotch.

"Thanks." said Hotch before walking to the area that was spray painted causing the others to follow him "The signatures match."

At that moment Spencer noticed something.

"Wait a minute." said Spencer.

"What do you see?" asked Hotch as he looked at their handwriting specialist.

"Morpheus is always extremely precise with his signature. It never varies." said Spencer.

"It looks the same to me." said Rossi.

"But it isn't." said Spencer as he used his mind to have what he saw pop up into his mind, "The bottom of the "u" never intersects the "s" in the mobile signature. And look-the lower two horizontal bars of the "e" fall just short of the left side of the "u" and the alignment of the "m" is marginally off. This is not Morpheus' signature." said Spencer.

"A forgery?" asked Rossi.

"That's what I think." said Spencer.

"That means the signatures in the nursery and the Russell Pearson crime scene are probably also forgeries." said Hotch.

"Ok, well, that brings us back to our set-up theory. So who would have a motive to frame Morpheus for both the kidnapping and the murder?" asked Tara.

"Someone with an axe to grind, a grudge." said Rossi.

"Is there another rival artist like Markus Ivey?" asked Spencer.

"You know, I keep going back to the fact that Ivey knew the location of the Morpheus work beforehand. He told Morgan that it was because Morpheus was becoming predictable, but I don't buy it." said Tara.

"What if Markus Ivy was tipped by someone who actually did know Morpheus?" asked Hotch.

"Like who?" asked Spencer.

"I don't know, but think about it. For Morpheus to stay underground year after year, he's gotta have help." said Hotch as he called Garcia.

"Yes, sir?" asked Garcia.

"Garcia. I need you to start a parallel search for a possible associate of Morpheus." said Hotch.

"Ok, sure. I love parallel searches. You should know that the original search is not going well, and I would really appreciate it if you guys would put your noggins together and give me a nudge in how to proceed." said Garcia.

"Ok, well, this person would follow the exact same geographical timeline that you built for Morpheus." said Tara.

"We think the unsub might have his home base on the Gulf coast of Florida. See if any money from the various locations in your geo-profile was wired to or from there." said Hotch.

"That's a beautiful nudge. Thank you." said Garcia.

"In Morpheus' first art piece in Detroit, we found a distinctive blue chalk spray with a UV-resistant fixative. He used the same material in New Orleans several years ago. I'd check to see if he ordered it from the same outlet or found a similar source nearby." said Spencer as he thought about the email he had from Ethan about Morpheus being in New Orleans.

"Uh-huh. Keep that coming." said Garcia.

"This possible associate hasn't announced himself either. It means he may have reason to hide. Cross-check any names you get with those who have done prison time or have outstanding warrants." said Rossi.

"Ok. I am on it, she said with confidence. Ok." said Garcia before hanging up.

"Let's get back to the P.D. We have a lot of work to do." said Hotch as he knew that an all-nighter is calling their names due to Corinne.

* * *

For the next couple of hours Spencer spent time reading books that dealt with art, and after rubbing his tired eyes before slipping his glasses back into the bridge of his nose, Rossi came over, causing him to get up from the table.

"There have been Corinne Wallace sightings from Mexico to Nova Scotia. People are well meaning, but..." said Rossi.

"How are the parents?" asked Spencer as he thought about what if it was Piper, Albert, or Ava that were abducted by Morpheus instead of Corinne.

Rossi looked at the youngest parent, on the team knowing that Spencer was thinking about Piper, Albert, Ava, and his unborn son Daniel as he looked at the board.

"Well, it's been tough. They've gone to a hotel to try to get some sleep." said Rossi as he noticed that Spencer looked tired like everyone else.

At that moment Spencer noticed something.

"That's strange." said Spencer.

"What is?" asked Rossi.

"The Markus Ivey crime scene and the bassinet next to the body. There's a small blue blanket." said Spencer as he walked to the table.

"What about it?" asked Rossi as Spencer looked for a certain picture in a file.

"I've seen it before. Here. In the car barbecue art." said Spencer just as Hotch approached them.

"What is it, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"I got it. Morpheus' associate or assistant or whatever. Corey Marlin." said Garcia.

"What makes you so sure?" asked Spencer.

"Well, you said Gulf coast of Florida. He's from Tampa. He was in prison for 4 years for beating a guy half to death in a bar fight. He has a bunch of outstanding warrants from forever ago. When he was in prison, he took up painting. He said he wanted to become an artist. Ooh! And the timeline matches, too. Marlin fell off the face of the earth in 2007 right when Morpheus showed up. If Morpheus has an associate, this has gotta be our guy." said Garcia.

"Never mind associate. Could Corey Marlin actually be Morpheus?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, well, that's doubtful. Marlin's work may have wowed 'em in cell block C, but he doesn't have the artistic chops that Morpheus does. He did, however, wire money from an account in Sarasota to locations that match the movements of Morpheus. Every week like clockwork, up till 3 weeks ago." said Garcia.

"Maybe the association ended." said Hotch.

"At the same time the killing began." said Spencer.

"I'm sending all this to you right now." said Garcia.

"Thanks, Garcia." said Hotch as he lifted up his phone to look at the picture.

* * *

Spencer approached his teammates with bags that he collected from evidence.

"It took me a little while to find them. This one's from the Markus Ivey crime scene. And this one is from the burnt-out car art piece Morpheus did a couple months ago." said Spencer as he pulled out a piece of a blanket and laid it on the table.

"It's two halves of the same blanket." said Hotch.

"It's weird, though. I mean, we know Morpheus was responsible the burnt-out car art piece. His signature was real and he claimed credit for it on his encrypted social media site. But the Markus Ivey murder was done by an imposter." said Spencer.

"So how did two pieces of the same blanket end up in both locations?" asked Tara.

"Corey Marlin would have had access to Morpheus' materials." said Hotch just as Chief Palmer approached them.

"Agent Hotchner. There's a call about the missing baby. I think you should take this one. It's on line 3." said Palmer.

At that moment Hotch put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" asked Hotch.

"Is this Agent Aaron Hotchner?" asked Morpheus in an electronically altered voice.

"Who is this?" asked Hotch.

"If you want to find the child, go to 325 West Warren." said Morpheus.

"Who is this?" demanded Hotch.

"325 West Warren. You have 30 minutes." said Morpheus.

"Lewis, let's go." said Hotch.

Tara followed Hotch.

* * *

Spencer was sitting at the conference room table when Hotch looked at him.

"It's been over 30 hours since Corinne Wallace was taken. We're running out of time." said Hotch as Chief Palmer entered the room.

"Corey Marlin turned up dead in a downtown motel, bound and shot. Body shows signs of torture." said Palmer as he looked at the two agents who told him that they have kids or have another one on the way.

"Any sign of the Wallace baby?" asked Spencer.

"No. And no evidence of the child ever having been there." said Palmer.

"I'll have Agent Morgan meet you there." said Hotch.

"You know, this could be Morpheus. She and Corey had a falling out, she knows that we're onto Corey, Corey can reveal her secrets." said Spencer.

"The torture doesn't make sense. She didn't convey that level of suppressed rage." said Hotch as he rested his hands on the table.

"Well, then it has to be someone looking for information. Corey seems the only person that could tell Morpheus' whereabouts." said Spencer.

"Morpheus hung up on us when I mentioned the blue blanket. That stopped her cold." said Hotch.

At that moment Spencer decided to look at the blanket.

"Wait a minute. Wait, look at this. This one is slightly more faded and it's a little more worn out. It's subtle, but it would take years for cloth to degrade like this. Whoever cut this blanket did it a long time ago." said Spencer as he thought about how his baby blanket that Piper inherited is faded.

"They should be exactly the same, but they're not." said Hotch as Spencer leaned back in his chair, "Morpheus came to Detroit two months ago. Why then?" asked Hotch as he thought about how easy it is to bounce back ideas with Spencer.

"The condo development controversy?" asked Spencer.

"I don't think so. That's been an issue here for a while. Something else triggered her arrival." said Hotch.

"Well, then what happened two months ago?" asked Spencer.

"The mother and child died in the overheated car." said Hotch causing Spencer to grab a picture.

"And that was Morpheus' first piece of art in Detroit, the one that she used her half of the blanket in." said Spencer as Hotch called Garcia.

"Garcia." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir." said Garcia.

"Of all the women on your list, did any lose a child?" asked Hotch.

"Uh, 3 did." said Garcia.

"And of those 3, did any of those children die between 2005 and 2008?" asked Hotch.

"Mm-hmm. Ellen Clark. She lost her 3-year-old son 8 years ago." said Garcia.

"That coincides exactly with the emergence of Morpheus." said Spencer.

"And what were the circumstances of the child's death?" asked Hotch.

"Awful. It was a drowning accident in a lake near Nokomis, Florida. Oh, sir! It has got to be Ellen Clark. She briefly audited courses at the Glenbury School of Art and Design in Sarasota." said Garcia.

"And what about the father?" asked Hotch.

"William Cochran, who was a teacher there when she was a student." said Garcia.

"That's how he and Ellen must have met. He might have been her mentor." said Spencer as he thought about his and Olivia's first meeting in a coffee shop leading them to chat for hours.

"Cochran was not at the school for very long. He was fired after an altercation with another faculty member, and he underwent a mandatory psych eval." said Garcia.

"So there were indicators of mental instability from the start." said Spencer as he thought about how he started going to therapy right before Piper was conceived and how he is still going to therapy at least twice a year unless something tragic happens in the field.

"What happened to him?" asked Hotch.

"After his son Charlie drowned, William Cochran did some drowning of his own in alcohol, and then he wound up on the street for a while." said Garcia.

"And where is he now?" asked Hotch.

"He moved out of state a few years ago. Looks like he's been working as a handyman, trying to put his life back together, in Waycross, Georgia, where he lives." said Garcia as her computer beeped, "Uh-oh."

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"William Cochran is on the move. He cleared out his bank account 9 days ago. He booked a one-way ticket to Detroit. I'm sending his photo and Ellen Clark's to you right now." said Garcia.

"Thanks." said Hotch as he looked at his phone.

* * *

Spencer was standing by Morgan, Rossi, and Tara looking at a file when Hotch came into the room.

"A store owner recognized Cochran from his photo. He's been in twice to buy baby food. She saw him go into a building across the street." said Hotch.

At that moment everyone followed him.

* * *

Spencer and Morgan heard a crash and ran towards it only to find both Ellen and William dead on the ground and Hotch standing over the edge of the building. After checking Ellen's pulse, Spencer looked up at Hotch and shook his head when he realized that one of his favorite street artists is dead.

* * *

Spencer quietly entered the master bedroom and smiled at the sight of Piper, Albert, and Ava already sleeping in bed with Olivia, causing him to quietly head into the master bathroom and 15 minutes later he was joining his wife and kids in bed while shifting his two sleeping daughters into his arms without waking them up.

* * *

Over seven hours later Piper woke up in her mommy's bed, only to realize that she was sleeping in her daddy's arms just as Olivia exited the master bathroom and smiled at her oldest daughter who was wiggling herself out of her daddy's arms.

"You see who's home?" asked a whispering Olivia as she helped Piper put on her glasses before gently removing Ava from Spencer's other arm.

"Yes." said Piper just as Albert and Ava woke up and their eyes went wide when they saw their daddy.

"Want to wake daddy up so we can ask him what he wants for breakfast?" asked a whispering Olivia as she helped Albert put on his glasses before noticing that a smirking Spencer quickly opened his eyes before closing them again.

Piper nodded and looked at Albert and Ava.

"Tickle daddy." said Piper.

At that moment Piper, Albert, and Ava all started tickling their daddy, causing a smiling Spencer to wake up.

"I knew that you guys were awake since I heard you whispering." said Spencer as he reached for his glasses and slipped them on before he gave all three kids and Olivia each a kiss.

"You stay home today daddy?" asked Piper.

"I have the day off." said Spencer.

"Yay!" chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava before Spencer and Olivia ended up taking all three kids to the bathroom then heading downstairs to make breakfast.

* * *

A couple of days later William was taking a picture of Spencer dressed as Fear, Olivia dressed as Joy, Piper dressed as Sadness, Albert dressed as Anger, and Ava dressed as Disgust before Spencer and Olivia left the house with the kids to meet up with Hotch, Will, Jack, and Henry for Trick or Treating while William passed out candy.

* * *

 _A/N: Can you readers figure out what movie I decided to use as the theme for the Reid Family's Halloween of 2015 costumes based on the mention of the five characters?_


	7. Target Rich

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to vampire and inuyasha lover 13, Chermayne, Hippichic81, Jasmine for reviewing chapter 6._

 _And for everyone who guessed "Inside Out" as the theme for the Halloween costumes, you guys are correct._

 _Just so you guys know, Spencer doesn't give JJ his original set of encyclopedias since he's already sharing them with Piper, Albert, and Ava so that means Daniel will get to read them too._

 _I decided to skip Pariahville and go straight to Target Rich so this chapter takes place on the day JJ comes back from maternity leave._

* * *

Spencer was eating breakfast with his family when Piper looked at her daddy.

"Why are we going away for eight weeks?" asked Piper.

"Grandma Diana is sick and I have to work with her doctors to find out what's wrong with her, and while we're in Las Vegas we will be spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years." said Spencer as he thought back to the conversation he had with Hotch about being off of work until January 11th when Olivia's 30 weeks pregnant.

"What about gymnastics?" asked Piper.

"Coach Grace said that there's no classes until January 18th due to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years so you won't be missing anything at all." said Olivia.

"OK." said Piper before she took another bite of her banana pancake before realizing something else, "Will Santa find us at uncle Ordon?"

"He will find us in Las Vegas, sweet pea so keep thinking about what you want for Christmas so you can tell him when we go visit Santa at the mall." said Olivia.

"OK." said Piper before taking another bite of her banana pancake.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer set his messenger bag under his desk before heading up to Hotch's office.

"Are you, William, Olivia, and the kids all packed for Vegas?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah, but I hate to leave you two agents down since Tara's picking out her team right now." said Spencer.

"Tara will be back next week Monday since I told the Director last week that I will need her back since you're going on leave for two months." said Hotch.

"Then I'm glad that I'm not leaving you two agents down." said Spencer.

Before Hotch could respond, Morgan knocked on the door and Spencer got up.

"I guess he's going to debrief you about the interview he just did." said Spencer as he opened up the door before heading to Rossi's office.

"What's up kiddo?" asked Rossi.

"Since JJ's coming back today, my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I are going away for eight weeks." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Rossi.

"My mom's not doing well since her medication has been changed three times since Piper's birthday, and while we were in Detroit I told Hotch what's going on, and it's been decided that after today I will be on leave until January 11th so for the next eight weeks my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I will be in Las Vegas." said Spencer.

"Have plane tickets been paid for?" asked Rossi as he thought about how expensive six round trip plane tickets would be.

"We're driving since Olivia's doctor prefers that we drive instead of fly since Olivia will be 30 weeks pregnant when we return to DC, and driving to and from will make things easier for us when it comes to the kids car seats and booster seats since we had the lug them when dad, Olivia, the kids, and I flew out to Vegas for mom's and uncle Gordon's birthday." said Spencer.

"Do you have enough money when it comes to hotel rooms, food, gas, and snacks?" asked Rossi.

"We have enough money for hotel rooms, meals, snacks, and gas. Plus we're staying at uncle Gordon's while in Las Vegas since he has plenty of room." said Spencer.

Rossi pulled out his wallet, took out three one hundred dollar bills and passed the money to Spencer.

"Consider this my Christmas gift for you to help cover part of the expenses for the two road trips, and when it comes to the Christmas gifts that I have for your kids I will ship them to your uncle's." said Rossi.

Spencer made no move to take the money.

"I can't accept this, Rossi." said Spencer.

"I'm not taking no for an answer." said Rossi.

A sighing Spencer took the money, and Rossi looked at him.

"If you need anything at all during the eight weeks you are away, please let me know." said Rossi as he pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Please don't tell Garcia, JJ, or Morgan yet since I want to tell them one by one." said Spencer.

"OK kiddo, and speaking of JJ, let's go help Garcia arrange that welcome back party for her." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer and Rossi were helping Garcia finish up on setting up for JJ's return, and before they knew it she entered the break area.

"Hi!" smiled JJ.

"Yay!" squealed Garcia.

"Bellissimo!" said Rossi.

Spencer pulled JJ into a tight hug while lifting her up a bit.

"Ohh!" said JJ as she thought about how all that crutch walking six years ago and eventually having to carry a three year old and two year old twins helped Spencer's upper body strength increase.

"Welcome back! Welcome back." said Spencer as he continued to hug JJ tightly as he thought about having to break the news about him going on leave as he carried her to the others.

"I missed you guys." said JJ as Spencer set her down.

"Oh, we missed you more." said Garcia as she hugged JJ.

As soon as Garcia released JJ, JJ went to Rossi.

"Hey." said JJ.

JJ and Rossi kissed each other on both of their cheeks.

"Mwah! Mwah!" said JJ and Rossi at the same time before Rossi held out a box to her.

"Oh, wow-oh, my gosh, nice. Will's favorite brand. Thank you, Rossi." said JJ before Spencer pointed out his and Olivia's gift that was sitting on the table, "And, Spence, wow." said JJ.

"This was my second set since Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel have inherited my original set. And I realize that most of this information is most likely on that "internet," but you can never teach old-fashioned research habits too soon." said Spencer.

"How's the little guy doing?" asked Rossi.

"Oh, he's good. He's sleeping through the night for now, at least." said JJ before looking at Spencer, "Oh, and, Spence, I showed him the picture of when you first visited and he started kicking his little legs and he smiled real big." said JJ causing Spencer to smile.

"Who wouldn't get excited seeing that Bella faccia?" said Rossi as he took a hold of Spencer's chin.

"I think he wants to see you." said JJ.

Spencer and Rossi looked at each other, knowing that it's going to be awhile before Michael sees Spencer again.

"You know, studies have shown that babies begin exhibiting cognizable nonverbal communication within days of birth." said Spencer as he thought about how Piper, Albert, and Ava were after their births.

"And some things never change." said JJ.

Garcia grabbed JJ's hand and started leading her towards her desk.

"Yeah. And some things do, and because of that, we took the liberty of doing... this," said Garcia as she showed JJ her desk, "It's all the pictures you sent while you were away."

"You guys, I love it. It's-it's perfect. Thank you, all of you. Almost all of you." said JJ as she looked up at Hotch's office.

"They're debriefing." said Rossi.

A few seconds later Spencer looked at the picture of Piper holding Michael.

"So is Piper getting more excited about having another little brother who will become Michael's best friend?" asked JJ as she looked at the picture of a grinning Piper holding Michael.

"She is, but Albert is still showing the most excitement about getting a little brother." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Garcia decided to start pouring the sparking cider and passed it out.

"Ok, and this is your Bureau approved bubbly." said Garcia.

"Cheers." said JJ as she, Spencer, Rossi, and Garcia clinked their glasses together and took a sip, "Ok, now tell me all about Tara Lewis."

"She is really excited to meet you. I think her exact words after reading your reports were, "is JJ as awesome as I think she is?"" quoted Spencer.

"I like her already." said JJ as Morgan and Hotch approached them.

"Ok, you did not just have a baby." said Morgan.

JJ pulled Morgan into a hug before hugging Hotch.

"Hi. Welcome back." said Hotch.

"Seriously, talk to me. What is your secret? 'Cause you look good." said Morgan.

"Well, yeah, see these guns?" asked JJ as she showed her upper arms, "It's from lugging around two boys all day."

"Oh, baby weightlifting. I would buy that DVD." said Garcia.

At that moment Rossi's phone rang.

"Excuse me." said Rossi before walking away, causing Garcia to look at Spencer.

"With having to carry around a three year old and two year old twins I can see why both yours and Olivia's upper arm strength improved." said Garcia as she squeezed Spencer's upper arm.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer was pulling out his phone to text Olivia.

THERE'S A LOCAL CASE, AND I WANT TO HELP MY TEAMMATES WITH ONE LAST CASE BEFORE WE LEAVE FOR LAS VEGAS. ~ SR

A minute later his phone vibrated.

IT'S OK SINCE I'M STILL WAITING FOR THAT PHONE CALL FROM DR. CARTER ABOUT THE GYNECOLOGIST THAT WILL SEE ME IN VEGAS SO YOU JUST WORK ON THE CASE. PLEASE STAY SAFE AND I LOVE YOU. ~ OR

As soon as Spencer pocketed his phone, Hotch looked at him.

"Reid, a word please." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I will catch up with you at the car park." said Spencer.

"OK kid." said Morgan as he headed to the elevators.

A minute later Spencer was closing the door to Hotch's office and Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Do you want to sit out this case so you, your father, Olivia, and the kids can start the long drive to Las Vegas within the next few hours instead of tomorrow morning?" asked Hotch.

"I want to help with this case since it's local, and Olivia's OK with having to wait since she's waiting for a phone call from Dr. Carter about who will be her gynecologist in Las Vegas until we come back to DC." said Spencer.

"But as soon as this case is over, you're on leave until January 11th." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer.

"Now go catch up with Morgan." said Hotch.

At that moment Spencer exited Hotch's office, and a few minutes later he was climbing into the front passenger seat and Morgan looked at him.

"Why did Hotch call you into his office?" asked Morgan as he started the SUV.

"I will tell you later." said Spencer.

"You better, kid, since I've noticed that you've been a bit off during these past few weeks." said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer and Morgan were conferencing in with the others.

"4 cases in 9 years. How come this hasn't been on our radar?" asked Rossi.

"Because the disappearances were in different states with different M.O.s." said Rossi.

"The first missing woman was Kathy Miller from NYU in 2006." said Spencer.

"So what's the plan once we land on campus?" asked Morgan.

"Track Bahni's movements. Campus police checked her room. She's not there. They taped it off for you." said Hotch.

"What about her cell phone?" asked Spencer.

"It just pinged in her room overnight." said Garcia.

"Strange for millennials to go anywhere without a phone." said JJ.

"No credit card activity. I confirmed with all ticket agencies she didn't take a boat, bus, blimp, or plane last night. Oh! Dean's office just sent us her file from Judy Temple College. It looks like...Oh, dear." said Garcia.

"Looks like what?" asked Rossi.

"She voluntarily withdrew." said Garcia.

* * *

Spencer and Morgan were going through Bahni's dorm, and while going through Bahni's closet he thought about all the suitcases that were already packed.

"She definitely didn't plan on leaving town. Her clothes, shoes, and luggage are all still here." said Spencer before walking towards Bahni's cellphone.

"Well, it looks like she was trying on different outfits. Mini skirts, heels. She was clearly going out." said Morgan.

"But why not take her phone? She'd need it to meet up with her friends." said Spencer.

Morgan noticed chemistry textbooks.

"Unless her friends were already here. Reid, same textbooks, different names. She wasn't studying alone." said Morgan.

"Might be the last person who saw her." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was knocking on Paddy Morris's door.

"Paddy Morris, this is the FBI." said Spencer as he knocked on the door again.

"Very funny, Josh. It's too early for this-" said Paddy as she opened the door only to see two men holding up their badges, "You're not Josh."

A few minutes later Spencer and Morgan were asking her about when she last saw Bahni.

"I was with her last night. She was fine." said Paddy.

"Any idea why she left her cell phone in her room?" asked Morgan.

"We didn't take purses, and we didn't have pockets in our skirts." said Paddy.

"Ok, walk us through the night. You guys were studying before you went out?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. Um... I knew about this party. She didn't want to go." said Paddy as she started explaining what happened.

"So it wasn't epic." said Spencer.

"It was most decidedly not... Epic." said Paddy.

"Did you two come back to the dorm?" asked Morgan.

"No. I made her stay." said Paddy.

"Why?" asked Morgan.

"There was this tennis guy that I'd been trading tweets with. He said he'd show up, but he was late, and then the later it got, the more I drank." said Paddy.

"How much did you have?" asked Spencer.

"Her, I don't know, me, a lot. Until..." said Paddy as she explained what happened.

"Did anyone walk out after her, maybe try to escort her?" asked Spencer as he thought about when he started at Cal-tech he always had an escort on campus until the semester that he turned 18.

"Not that I saw. God, it's my fault, isn't it?" asked a crying Paddy.

"No, it's not. But there's still a way you can help us." said Morgan.

"Anything. Name it." said Paddy.

"Where was the party?" asked Morgan.

Paddy gave the address, and after telling the others the information they were heading back to Quantico, causing Morgan to look at Spencer.

"So are you now going to tell me why you were in Hotch's office twice today?" asked Morgan.

"This case is my last case with you guys until January 11th." said Spencer.

"Are your father, Olivia, the kids, and Daniel OK?" asked Morgan.

"They are all fine, but my mom's not doing well." said Spencer.

"What's wrong with your mom?" asked Morgan.

"Since Piper's birthday my mom's medication has been changed three times, and two weeks ago her doctor told me that I should really come to Vegas to help them figure out what's going on with her." said Spencer.

"So that's why you had to take that phone call in Detroit two weeks ago." said Morgan.

"Yeah, and Hotch and Rossi both already know that I'm leaving for Vegas after this case since I wanted to welcome JJ back from maternity leave." said Spencer

"So are you guys flying or driving?" asked Morgan.

"We're driving since the date we have planned to return to DC is at the time when Olivia's not going to be allowed to fly until after Daniel is born, and driving will make things easier for us when it comes to the kids car seats and booster seats since we're taking Olivia's seven seater SUV instead of having to rent an SUV if we flew to Vegas." said Spencer before looking at Morgan, "I am planning on talking to JJ and Garcia one on one so please don't tell them."

"I promise kid, and I hope you figure out what's going on with your mom while getting to spend the holidays in Las Vegas even though Savannah and I will now have to ship our Christmas gifts for you, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava to Las Vegas." said Morgan.

"It's OK since Hotch and Rossi already mentioned the same thing about having to ship their gifts out, but the kids are excited about getting to spend time on their great uncle's ranch for the next seven weeks since right now is the best time of the year to go horseback riding in Nevada even though Olivia can't." said Spencer.

"Speaking of animals, is Einstein going with you guys?" asked Morgan.

"Kate, Chris, and Meg offered to take him in since they've been talking about getting a dog and Einstein will be good practice." said Spencer.

"That's nice of them." said Morgan.

"I've helped Kate find a therapist for Meg, and she told me that if I need a favor she will return it." said Spencer.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was walking with JJ in Alexandria.

"This is the last spot she was seen. The next camera is 100 feet down, which makes this the abduction zone." said Spencer.

"Well, Alexandria police searched the buildings. Nothing there." said JJ.

"Well, if she got in the car with him, they would have shown up on the camera down the street." said Spencer.

"But shoving her in the trunk of a car out in the open like this, it's too risky." said JJ as they stopped by the alley.

"That leaves this." said Spencer.

At that moment Spencer's phone chimed causing him to grab it from the inside of his suit jacket, only to see a text message from Olivia.

I JUST GOT THE EXPECTED PHONE CALL FROM DR. CARTER. IT'S BEEN DECIDED THAT DR. BRANDT WILL MONITOR MY PREGNANCY AS SOON AS WE GET TO LAS VEGAS. SO DEPENDING ON WHAT TIME YOU'RE DONE WITH YOUR CURRENT CASE WE ARE HITTING THE ROAD. ~ OR

Spencer quickly sent Olivia a reply.

OK. ~ SR

As soon as he put his phone back into the inside of his suit jacket, JJ looked at him.

"Everything OK?" asked JJ.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"Actually, no." said Spencer and JJ looked at him, causing him to continue, "My mom's not doing so well. Since Piper's birthday the doctors have had to change her medicine 3 times to try to stabilize the schizophrenia, and I have been talking to Hotch these past two weeks about taking some time off to head to Vegas to deal with my mom's medical care. So as soon as this case is done with I'm on leave until January 11th since my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I are spending the next eight weeks in Las Vegas to celebrate the holidays while I figure out what's going on with my mom." said Spencer.

"It would have been OK if you went to Vegas before I returned." said JJ as she rested a hand on Spencer's arm.

"I know, but I told Hotch that I wasn't going to leave him two agents down." said Spencer before looking at JJ, "Right now Bahni is more important, and after this case my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I are hitting the road since Olivia will not be able to fly commercially at 30 weeks."

"It's good that you're going to help your mom, but I'm going to miss working with you for the next eight weeks." said JJ.

Spencer and JJ left the alley as they began to focus on the case.

"All right, let's think this through." said Spencer.

"All right, if he took her out this way, it's a busier street. The traffic was lighter last night, but it's still a risk to abduct someone in plain sight." said JJ.

"So he was able to control a drunk woman and it didn't look suspicious." said Spencer.

"He probably just put his arm around her and walked off. She was too drunk to even realize she was in danger." said JJ.

"You know, if this was just about the assault, he could have done that back in the alley. I think this has gotta be some sort of long-term play." said Spencer.

"Then he's been watching Bahni, looking for the perfect opportunity." said JJ.

"Well, he certainly found it last night. She's a straight "A" student who never drinks and rarely goes out." said Spencer.

* * *

While JJ and Rossi were giving the profile to the press, Spencer pulled Garcia aside.

"What is it Boy Wonder?" asked Garcia.

"My mom's medication has been changed three times since Piper's birthday, and two weeks ago while Hotch, Morgan, Rossi, Tara, and I were in Detroit my mom's doctor said that I should consider coming out to Vegas for a couple of weeks instead of a few days so after this case you won't be seeing my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I in person for eight weeks since after this case I'm on leave until January 11th." said Spencer.

"What about Olivia's pregnancy?" asked Garcia.

"Dr. Carter gave Olivia the OK to spend the next eight weeks away from DC since she will be seeing a gynecologist in Las Vegas." said Spencer.

Garcia hugged Spencer.

"I'm going to miss seeing you, Olivia, and your kids for the next eight weeks, but you're doing the right thing, Boy Wonder, since your mom's health is more important than work right now." said Garcia.

"I know." said Spencer before he decided to focus on the case again.

"When it comes to Christmas presents, I will just ship them to your uncle's house." said Garcia.

"So far Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, and JJ have said the same thing." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer was standing in the conference room when Rossi entered the room.

"Anyone see Joy?" asked Rossi.

"Not for a while. Why?" asked Garcia.

"She asked about Sam's rap sheet. At the time, I didn't think it through. But she is a journalist." said Rossi.

"And Sam's a lead." said Morgan.

"Pull him up, Garcia." said Rossi.

"Ok, uh, Sam Burnett. No record. Just his address and his date of birth." said Garcia.

"He's about the same age as Joy." said Hotch.

"That's it. Where did he go to college?" asked Rossi.

"He dropped out of NYU in 2006." said Garcia.

At that moment Hotch and Rossi looked at Spencer.

"The same time Kathy Miller went missing." said Spencer.

"Ok, but hold up. What are we saying? Burnett did not take Bahni." said Morgan.

"But he could be an unsub. When he talked about Bahni's abduction, he wasn't concerned, he was jealous." said JJ.

"We have two separate unsubs in a target rich environment." said Hotch.

"And Joy's going to confront the one we know. Garcia, ping her phone." said Rossi.

Garcia followed Rossi's instructions.

"She's in the same alley that Bahni was last seen." said Garcia.

Rossi sighed.

"Now ping Sam's." said Rossi.

Garcia followed Rossi's instructions.

* * *

"I'm looking at the vehicles from earlier and there's nothing extraordinary about them or their owners." said Garcia.

"Any of them belong to Judy Temple students?" asked Hotch.

"Two, but we already know they went home for the weekend." said Garcia.

"Some of Sam Burnett's story is true. The unsub likely walked off with his arm around Bahni, and it's highly doubtful that he would have taken the chance to hurt her in public." said Morgan.

"Yeah, but then they just disappeared." said Garcia.

"Well, because he took her away, likely in a vehicle that fit in. Campus security should have a list of vehicles that are authorized to drive onto campus. Cross-check those against your list." said Spencer.

"Checking registrations. There's a car. It looks like it's in the neighborhood. It delivers Chinese food to campus." said Garcia.

"Does Bahni order from them?" asked Spencer.

"All the flippin' time." said Garcia.

"Who's it registered to?" asked Spencer.

"22-year-old Tom Larson. No criminal record." said Garcia.

"Check for juvenile offenses." said Spencer.

"Oh. Bingo. Lots of misdemeanor peeping offenses in his teens. It doesn't look like it's a coincidence. And every time he got busted, he'd end up in the hospital with bruises and broken bones." said Garcia.

"Probably an abusive father. Was child services ever called?" asked Hotch.

"Looks like the mom explained it away, until she committed suicide years ago." said Garcia.

"You want to bet that she received the brunt of his abuse?" asked Morgan.

"Oh, no takers on that bet. Looks like the elder Larson had a heart attack last year according to medical records, and the son is the primary caregiver." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Caring for his own father who beat him, it was only a matter of time before he snapped." said Spencer.

"We don't have two monsters, we have 3." said Morgan.

"Garcia, send the address to Rossi and JJ." said Hotch.

* * *

As soon as Spencer finished up his report he headed up to Hotch's office, and Hotch looked at his youngest agent.

"Everyone knows that you're on leave until January 11th?" asked Hotch.

"Everyone knows, and Morgan, JJ, Garcia, and Rossi have all told me that they will miss me." said Spencer.

"You will be missed, and we will be fine without you." said Hotch.

"I know, but you guys will still be getting pictures of the kids sent to you so you don't miss out on how big they get over the next eight weeks." said Spencer.

"You should get going so you, your dad, Olivia, and the kids can hit the road as soon as possible." said Hotch as he got up from his desk and pulled Spencer into a rare hug.

"Olivia and I decided to hit the road at 5 AM tomorrow morning so we have one more night in our own beds." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was by JJ's desk, and he lifted up the photo of Piper holding Michael and a chuckling JJ looked at him.

"You were that little once." said JJ.

"It seems impossible, doesn't it, that we all start out so helpless." said Spencer as he ran his finger over Piper's face while thinking back to the first time he held her while telling her that she was the best father's day gift that he could ever ask for, "I was amazed when I held Piper and then Albert and Ava for the first time, and I can't wait to hold DJ in 18 weeks." said Spencer.

"And we all end the same way." said JJ.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"I do have one question though, is Einstein going to Vegas with you guys?" asked JJ.

"Actually Kate, Chris, and Meg are taking him in since Meg has been talking about wanting to get a dog, and you should let Kate know if Henry wants to play with Einstein." said Spencer as he looked at his watch, "I talked to Olivia earlier, and we're hitting the road at 5 AM tomorrow morning."

At that moment JJ pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Call me when you make it to Vegas safely." said JJ.

"I promise since Hotch, Morgan, Garcia, and Rossi all told me that too." said Spencer as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder.

* * *

At 5 AM the following morning Spencer, Olivia, William, Piper, Albert, and Ava were on the road to Las Vegas.

* * *

 _A/N: The next chapter will take place three days later in Las Vegas so you guys know that the Reids made it safely._


	8. Las Vegas Part 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, Hippichic81 for reviewing chapter seven._

 _This chapter takes place the morning after the Reids arrived in Las Vegas since they arrived the evening before until Thanksgiving, and with one of the events that is mentioned in this chapter you readers will realize that I'm not going to have Spencer end up in jail at all._

 _I'm sorry about the delay for this chapter since I was dealing with writers block and my family and I had to put our beloved seven year old Charcoal lab Cleatus (the Labrador in my avatar photo) to sleep since his epilepsy has gotten so bad that he would have a couple of seizures a week and with all the medication he was on he could barely walk. I held his paw during his last moments, and boy did I cry when I was told that he's gone._

 _RIP Cleatus_

 _Born on 11-14-2009 and he died on 07-17-2017._

 _May you enjoy being free of your epilepsy while getting to spend time with my late aunt Cathy who will burp you for me._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia were finishing getting dressed for the day, and Spencer looked at his wife who was wearing maternity jeans, a maternity blouse, and had her long light brown hair pulled into a ponytail.

"I want to go see my mom alone today since it wouldn't be safe for you or the kids to see her." said Spencer.

"It's OK that you want to do this visit alone, but does Diana know that we're out here for seven weeks?" asked Olivia.

"She knows since I told her over the phone, and she's a bit excited about us being out here for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years." said Spencer just as they heard a knock on the door.

"Mommy. Daddy." said Piper.

"We'll be out in a minute, Goober." said Spencer.

"Uncle Gordon say that breakfast is in 15 minutes." said Piper.

"OK sweet pea, and daddy and I will be doing yours and Ava's hair as soon as we're out." said Olivia.

15 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were sitting around the dining room table with Gordon, William, Piper, Albert, and Ava eating breakfast and Gordon looked at his nephew.

"Do you want me to come along?" asked Gordon.

"I want to go see mom alone." said Spencer.

"You go see grandma?" asked Piper.

"I am, but right now she can't see you, mommy, Albert, and Ava since I don't know how sick she is." said Spencer.

"Grandma has a virus?" asked Piper as she thought about what her daddy explained to her when she had to get vaccinations.

At that moment all four adults exchanged glances.

"Something like that." said Spencer.

"When you go see grandma please give her a hug and a kiss and say that it's from Piper." said Piper.

"I will." said Spencer.

* * *

Over three hours later Spencer was stepping into his mother's room, and looked at his mom who was writing in her journal.

"Hi, mom." said Spencer.

Diana looked up at Spencer, and after three seconds she finally recognized her son.

"What are you doing here, Spencer?" asked Diana.

Spencer choked back his emotions as he realized that his mom didn't recognize him for three seconds.

"I had some vacation days saved up and I'm on leave until January 11th of next year since I wanted to spend some time with you before Daniel is born." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her son, confused.

"I'm going to be a grandma?" asked Diana before she noticed the gold wedding band on her son's left ring finger, "I have a daughter in law?"

Spencer realized the possibility of dementia, making him think of another question he could ask.

"How old am I?" asked Spencer.

Diana looked at her son.

"You just turned 29, and I don't recall you being married." said Diana.

Spencer closed his eyes before he knew that it was dementia.

"Mom, I turned 34 last month, I have been married for over four years to a girl named Olivia who you instantly liked when I introduced you to her, you have a three year old granddaughter named Piper, a two year old grandson named Albert, a two year old granddaughter named Ava, and Olivia is nearly 22 weeks pregnant with your second grandson who's going to be named Daniel Jason." said Spencer.

At that moment Diana started crying as one of her worst nightmares came true, and a few seconds later Spencer was sitting by his mom comforting her as nurse Elizabeth and Dr. Jesson came into the room where they saw Spencer comforting his mom.

"So you figured it out?" asked Dr. Jesson as nurse Elizabeth gave Diana a sedative before Spencer helped his mom lay down.

Spencer started explaining the conversation he had with his mom, and as soon as he reached the end he looked at her doctor.

"We need to get my mom tested for dementia as soon as possible, and so far I know that her twin brother Gordon hasn't been showing any symptoms." said Spencer.

"I will get your mom tested as soon as she's alert, but you should have Gordon get here since I want to test him just to be safe." said Dr. Jesson before she looked at Spencer who looked like he was very upset, "And you should head over to your uncle's and spend time with Olivia and the kids."

"OK." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was calling his uncle, and after explaining the test that Dr. Jesson wanted him to take, causing Gordon to tell him he would be there as soon as possible, Spencer hit the road to head back to his uncle's ranch.

* * *

Over a half hour later Spencer entered his uncle's ranch house to see Olivia and Ethel sitting on the couch knitting, and Spencer looked at Olivia.

"Where's dad and the kids?" asked Spencer.

"The kids are taking a nap, and your dad headed to Bennington with Gordon since he decided to get tested too just to be safe." said Olivia.

"You haven't called any of my team and told them that my mom's getting tested for dementia and possibly Alzheimer's?" asked Spencer as he made his way to sit by Olivia.

"Not yet because I would never call them without your consent." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "How are you doing?"

"I'm upset that there's a possibility my mom will eventually forget me." said Spencer as he explained the questions that he asked his mom before he quickly got up and rushed outside, and a few minutes later he was mounting himself onto Nikola and riding around the ranch.

* * *

Later that night Spencer, Olivia, William, and Gordon were sitting in front of Dr. Jesson, who was looking at a file.

"Diana does have dementia and possibly Alzheimer's, and it's not early onset since she's 65 years old." said Dr. Jesson before looking at Gordon, "And with you explaining that there's no family history of Alzheimer's and dementia, it's not genetic since your test results were negative." said Dr. Jesson.

"OK." said Gordon.

"What about me?" asked William.

"Your test results were negative." said Dr. Jesson before looking at Spencer, "And I am not going to run any tests on you because of your age, and with there being no family history of Alzheimer's and dementia in your paternal and maternal side of your family you have the same chance as anyone else."

Olivia looked at her husband.

"None of my grandparents had a history of Dementia or Alzheimer's so the kids would have the same chance as the both of us." said Olivia.

Spencer sighed in relief as Olivia squeezed her husband's hand and made eye contact with him.

"We will get through this together Spencer." said Olivia before groaning when she felt DJ kick.

"The baby just kicked?" asked Dr. Jesson.

"He sure did, so how about you try and see if DJ will kick for you." said Olivia.

At that moment Dr. Jesson got up, and a minute later she smiled when she felt the baby boy kick.

"Having grandchildren has helped Diana over the past three years, and with you two having another baby on the way I would suggest that you guys try to convince Diana to move to a hospital out east to make things easier for you." said Dr. Jesson.

"We will try." said Olivia.

* * *

An hour later all four adults plopped on the couch when Ethel came down the stairs.

"I just put the kids to sleep an hour ago." said Ethel as she noticed the sadden faces that all four adults were showing, "So is it Dementia and possibly Alzheimer's?"

"Yes, and mom's starting new medication in the morning so it's been advised that no one visit her for a week while she's monitored." said Spencer as he yawned and Olivia looked at her husband.

"We should head to bed ourselves since you had a long and exhausting day." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were getting into their pajamas, and as soon as they got into bed, Olivia noticed the tears that were threatening to fall and looked at her husband.

"You need to let these emotions out instead of bottling them in." said Olivia as she hugged her husband the best she could despite her pregnant belly.

Spencer started crying, and after sobbing for 20 minutes Spencer cried himself to sleep causing Olivia to help her sleeping husband lay down before she rested her head against his chest.

* * *

The next morning Spencer woke up in an empty bed, and after getting dressed he headed downstairs to see Olivia, his kids, his dad, and his uncle Gordon eating breakfast and after giving Olivia and the kids each a kiss he fixed a plate of breakfast for himself.

"Why you look sad, daddy?" asked Piper.

At that moment Spencer looked at Olivia, who nodded at him.

"Grandma's much sicker than we thought." said Spencer as he explained dementia and Alzheimer's in a way for Piper, Albert, and Ava to understand.

"Grandma will forget me?" asked Piper as she started to tear up.

"Eventually she will, but for now grandma will take medication to help manage her condition like her medication did for her schizophrenia." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"So please don't freak out if grandma doesn't remember you guys, but I want you three to remember that grandma Diana always loves you three and baby DJ." said Olivia.

"OK." said Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once before Piper looked at her daddy.

"Can I see grandma today?" asked Piper.

"Grandma's not able to have visitors until next week since she's starting on new medication today, but hopefully she will be stable enough to see you three next week." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." said Piper.

"But what do you say about you and I do something today?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Piper.

Spencer looked at Albert and Ava.

"I will be having individual dates with you two tomorrow, and the next day." said Spencer.

"Yay." said Albert as he clapped his hands.

"Yay." said Ava as she clapped her hands.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer and Piper arrived at one of Spencer's favorite childhood parks, and a minute later Spencer was pushing his oldest daughter on the swing while thinking about the times his mom pushed him on the swing.

"Higher, daddy." said Piper.

"You ready?" asked Spencer.

"I am." said Piper.

Spencer started pushing his oldest daughter a bit higher, and he couldn't help but smile at Piper's giggles while thinking about how having Olivia and the kids in his life has been helping him over the latest obstacle he has to deal with.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer and Piper were sitting in Ethel's diner, and after Spencer took his and Piper's orders, Ethel came over to them and looked at her great niece who was wearing a purple dress, purple leggings, purple converse sneakers, her long curly hair pulled into two fishtail braids with two purple ribbons, and her purple polka dot glasses.

"You're so full of purple today, Piper." said Ethel as she gave her great niece a kiss on the forehead.

"I like purple just like daddy." said Piper before she decided to start coloring on the activity mat that the waitress gave her.

Ethel looked at her nephew.

"How are you doing, Spencer?" asked Ethel.

"I'm hanging in there, and it's hard that mom can't have any visitors right now." said Spencer.

"But spending time with Olivia and your kids are one of the best things you can do right now while you wait." said Ethel.

"I know." said Spencer.

"Have you talked to your team about what's going on with Diana?" asked Ethel.

"We decided to wait until we head back to DC since I'm still trying to digest the information that I was given." said Spencer.

"So what are you two doing after lunch?" asked Ethel.

"We're going to the Discovery Children's Museum." said Spencer.

"Andrew loves taking Rachel there whenever he, Joanna, and Rachel come down from Reno." said Ethel.

"Andrew has told me about the museum." said Spencer.

"Have you told Andrew about his aunt?" asked Ethel.

"Gordon is taking care of notifying Andrew today." said Spencer.

"When will I see Rachel?" asked Piper.

"You will see her during Thanksgiving, Piper." said Spencer just as a waitress came over with their meals.

* * *

45 minutes later Spencer and Piper were enjoying the sights at the Discovery Children's Museum.

* * *

Later that night Spencer and Olivia were listening to Piper saying her prayers, and Spencer had to hold back his emotions when he heard Piper mention her grandma.

"I want Nana to be all better so daddy can smile and laugh again." said Piper through the cracked open door.

As soon as Piper, Albert, and Ava were all asleep, Spencer and Olivia were getting ready for bed when Olivia looked at her husband who was pulling on pajama bottoms.

"Are you OK?" asked Olivia.

"During the day with Piper, she kept asking me if I was OK." said Spencer quietly as he pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"She's always been a daddy's girl since one of her most favorite questions she asks every day when you're on a case is "when is daddy coming home."" said Olivia.

"Piper's extremely happy that I'm not going away at all for the next seven and a half weeks." said Spencer as he looked at the clock, "With it being 10 PM we should get some sleep since tomorrow Ava's having a date with me."

"As soon as you have your date with Ava and then Albert, are we going to have a date of our own?" asked Olivia flirtatiously as she played with the waistband of Spencer's pajama pants.

Spencer groaned when he felt his body react.

"Not here Olivia, since we're dealing with a full house, but when we have our date we can stay at a hotel overnight." said Spencer quietly.

"Promises. Promises." purred Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were fast asleep in their bed.

* * *

Three days later, Spencer and Olivia were entering Binions, and as soon as they were waiting for their meals, Olivia looked at her husband.

"How long are we not going to tell your teammates about your mom's diagnosis?" asked Olivia.

"I want to wait until the case that my teammates are working on outside of cases they are called in for is closed, and I was told in a cryptic text message from Hotch that we can't contact Garcia at all." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Olivia.

Spencer quietly told Olivia about what was going on and the orders that Hotch gave him about just staying where he was and come back to work the day he's supposed to return, and when he was finished talking, Olivia looked at her husband.

"Aaron's right that you need to focus on your mom right now, and Garcia is safe where she is." said Olivia.

At that moment a waitress came over with their chicken fried lobster, and after finishing their meals and eating dessert they were leaving Binions as Olivia was rubbing her now 22 week pregnant belly.

"That chicken fried lobster has really hit the spot since I was craving it." said Olivia.

"So are you ready for us to stay at the Bellagio?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." smirked Olivia as she thought about the shopping trip she did when Spencer was out with Piper three days prior.

A half hour later Spencer and Olivia were undressing each other before they started making out in their hotel bed.

* * *

A couple of days later Spencer entered his mother's room, and Diana looked at her son.

"Hello, Spencer." said Diana.

At that moment Spencer sighed in relief as he realized that his mom's new medication was helping her.

"Hey mom. Do you remember how old I am?" asked Spencer.

"You turned 34 last month, I have three grandchildren, and you and Olivia are expecting my second grandson next March." said Diana.

"You are correct, and speaking of Olivia and your grandchildren, are you ready to see them today?" asked Spencer.

"Are they here?" asked Diana.

"They're downstairs in the lobby." said Spencer.

"Please have them come up." said Diana.

Spencer pulled out his phone and sent a text, and a few minutes later Diana was hugging Piper, Albert, and Ava, and after Diana had a moment with each grandchild, she looked at Olivia and gasped when she saw Olivia's 22 week pregnant belly.

"Has the baby been kicking?" asked Diana.

"Daniel's been kicking since I was 16 weeks pregnant mom." said Olivia as she hugged her mother in law, "And I think that Daniel wants you to feel him kick for the first time."

Diana rested a hand on Olivia's growing belly, and a minute later she was tearing up when she felt Daniel kick before she looked at her son.

"I want to take your offer of moving out east so I can live the rest of my life making memories with you guys since it's going to be hard for you two and William to travel back and fourth with four kids." said Diana.

"I will let Dr. Jesson know today so we can start making arrangements." said Spencer.

At that moment Piper looked at her daddy.

"Can we please go outside and play?" asked Piper.

"I think that's a wonderful idea because I want to see you practice your cartwheels." said Diana.

"Yay!" cheered Piper as she hugged her grandma.

A few minutes later Spencer, Olivia, Diana, and the kids were in the garden and all three adults watched Piper, Albert, and Ava run around. Diana smiled when she watched Piper do an occasional cartwheel while teaching Albert and Ava how to do somersaults before she looked at her son.

"May I tell you something really important, Spencer?" asked Diana.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"Even though you guys are going to move me out east, I don't want you to go through the trouble of trying to find a cure for my dementia and Alzheimer's because I accepted my diagnosis so I just want to spend the rest of my life making memories with you guys." said Diana.

Spencer realized that his mom was right since he should accept the fact that his mom is eventually going to be gone.

"OK, mom." said Spencer.

At that moment Piper, Albert, and Ava ran towards them, and Piper looked at her grandma.

"Did you see my cartwheels?" asked Piper.

"I sure did Piper, and when I move to a hospital out east maybe I can come and watch you practice your gymnastics since I've seen the videos of you practicing." said Diana.

"Yay." said Piper as she hugged her grandma tightly just as Dr. Jesson approached them and looked at Spencer.

"Nurse Elizabeth mentioned that you wanted to speak to me in private." said Dr. Jesson as nurse Elizabeth came forward.

"I will stay with you guys while Spencer talks to Dr. Jesson." said nurse Elizabeth as she looked at Piper, "I have to see you do a few cartwheels since I've seen the videos that your mommy and daddy sent your grandma." said nurse Elizabeth.

"OK." beamed Piper.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting across from Dr. Jesson in Dr. Jesson's office, and Spencer looked at his mother's doctor.

"My mom requested that she gets transferred to a hospital out east so she can make memories with Olivia, the kids, and I." said Spencer.

"Well it's a good thing that I ended up doing some research this past week because there are a couple of hospitals willing to take in your mom that are either in Washington DC, Virginia, or Maryland." said Dr. Jesson as she grabbed the information she printed out and passed it to Spencer.

After spending 10 minutes reading the information, Spencer looked at Dr. Jesson.

"Even though Johns Hopkins is tempting, with my work hours and Baltimore being an hour away from DC and 90 minutes from Quantico I would only be able to handle going to Baltimore at least once a month, so I will do Georgetown University Hospital since mom stayed there for two weeks after Piper was born." said Spencer before smiling at his mother's doctor, "Plus it's helpful that I am friends with Dr. Harris since I once saved her son's life."

"I will contact Dr. Harris and get everything transferred to her." said Dr. Jesson as she picked up her phone, and 15 minutes later she looked at Spencer.

"It's all set that your mom will be transferred to the inpatient clinic at Georgetown University Hospital on January 10th of next year, and they're faxing the required paperwork for you to fill out." said Dr. Jesson.

"Thank you Dr. Jesson." said Spencer as Dr. Jesson's fax machine came to life.

"You're welcome Spencer, and even though I'm going to miss having your mom as a patient, moving her out east will be the best thing for the both of you so she can continue making memories with you, Olivia, and the kids until her Alzheimer's get worse." said Dr. Jesson.

A few minutes later Spencer was with his mom, Olivia, and the kids again and Diana looked at her son.

"So which hospital am I becoming a patient at?" asked Diana.

"You remember Dr. Harris who took over your care for two weeks after Piper's birth?" asked Spencer.

"Did I like her?" asked Diana.

"You did like her." said Spencer before he took a deep breath, "You're going to be an inpatient at Georgetown University Hospital which isn't far from where I live, and when I have weekends off I will check you out so we can visit tourist attractions when you're having a good day." said Spencer as three sleepy toddlers came towards them.

"I sleepy daddy." said Piper.

At that moment Spencer and Olivia looked at each other.

"We should head back to uncle Gordon's since it's nap time for the kids." said Spencer before looking at his mom, "We're going to be spending the next couple of weeks packing up and getting you a warmer wardrobe because next month when dad, Olivia, the kids, and I drive back to DC, aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon can probably work on transporting you east." said Spencer as he scooped up Piper while Olivia helped Albert and Ava get into their strollers.

* * *

The following Thursday, Spencer, Olivia, William, the kids, Gordon, Ethel, Andrew, Joanna, and Rachel, and Diana were sitting around the dining room table at Gordon's enjoying their Thanksgiving Day feast, and after dinner was cleaned up Gordon looked at everyone.

"What do you guys say about getting my artificial Christmas tree set up?" asked Gordon.

"Yay." cheered Piper, Albert, Ava, and Rachel all at once.

A half hour later everyone was decorating the Christmas tree before Spencer had to take his mom back to Bennington.

* * *

 _A/N: Let's just say that during Spencer's day with Ava, he took Ava to the library and Red Rock Canyon and for his day with Albert he took his son to the Discovery Children's Museum since he realized that Albert would enjoy the museum as much as Piper did and Shark Reef Aquarium._

 _Next chapter will deal with Christmas and New Years so the chapters that will deal with Entropy will start during chapter 9 since Entropy will be dealt with in more than one chapter since it was a huge Reidcentric episode in season 11._


	9. Las Vegas Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

 _A/N: Shout out to Chermayne, Hippichic81, Jasmine for reviewing chapter 8._

 _Sorry for the delay of this chapter, I was grieving over Cleatus while having to deal with writers block. I'm sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter, but I promise that the next chapter will be longer since I will be including parts from Entropy since I will have to watch Entropy twice since Entropy is definitely going to need to be in two parts while including the reunion that Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava will need to have with Spencer's teammates._

 _Olivia's 24 weeks in the beginning on this chapter since this chapter starts on December 1st._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Daddy and I have to go to the doctor to see how Daniel's doing." said Olivia.

"Albert, Ava, and I come with?" asked Piper.

"You three munchkins are staying with uncle Gordon and aunt Ethel this afternoon." said Spencer as he thought about how his aunt took the day off so she could spend the afternoon with her great nieces and great nephew.

"Why?" asked Piper.

Gordon looked at his great nieces and great nephew.

"I'm taking you three shopping to find Christmas presents for your mommy and daddy." said Gordon.

"OK." said Piper before she took another bite of her scrambled eggs.

* * *

Three hours later Spencer entered his mom's hospital room and looked at his mom who was reading a book.

"Hi, mom." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her son.

"Where are Olivia and the kids?" asked Diana.

Spencer sighed with relief as he realized that his mom remembered him, Olivia, and the kids.

"The kids are spending the afternoon with aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon, and due to having a good day today you're going on a little trip with dad, Olivia, and me." said Spencer.

"Where am I going?" asked Diana.

"Olivia has a doctor appointment in an hour." said Spencer.

"Is something wrong with the baby?" asked Diana.

"When it came to Olivia's gynecologist in DC to give Olivia the all clear to spend nearly eight weeks away from DC, Olivia had to agree to see a gynecologist in Las Vegas since she's required to have a 24 week checkup today and a 28 week checkup in four weeks before she starts having biweekly check ups when she reaches 30 weeks." said Spencer.

"And you want me to come along for her 24 week check up?" asked Diana.

"Grandparents are welcome to attend, and I thought that you would enjoy getting to hear Daniel's heartbeat." said Spencer.

"Then give me 20 minutes to get dressed." said Diana.

20 minutes later Spencer was helping his mom get into Olivia's SUV before he drove his parents and Olivia to the hospital that Dr. Brandt was working at.

* * *

Spencer, Olivia, William, and Diana were waiting for Dr. Brandt to come into the room when Olivia groaned when she felt Daniel kick, causing Spencer to look at her.

"Daniel kicked?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, and it's hard enough that I had to expand my bladder for this ultrasound." growled Olivia as she glared at her husband causing William and Diana to smile since their son was a target of Olivia's pregnancy hormones.

A minute later there was a knock on the door. Dr. Brandt came into the room and smiled at Spencer and Olivia.

"It's finally nice to see you two again under much better circumstances, Dr. and Mrs. Reid." said Dr. Brandt as she shook hands with Spencer and Olivia.

At that moment Spencer introduced his parents to Dr. Brandt before she started her exam, and when she was finished with the exam she looked at Spencer and Olivia.

"Ready to hear the heartbeat?" asked Dr. Brandt.

"Yes because I can't wait to empty my bladder since Daniel has been kicking away." said Olivia.

"Then I will try to make this quick for you." said Dr. Brandt.

A few minutes later Spencer, Olivia, William, and Diana were all crying when they heard Daniel's heartbeat, and Spencer looked at his mom.

"You OK, mom?" asked Spencer.

"Thank you for bringing me here, and hopefully I can remember this appointment as long as I can with the help of some ultrasound photos." said Diana as she wiped a tear that was falling before looking at her ex-husband, "I need to go get something to drink so can you please escort me William?"

"Sure." said William.

A few seconds later it was just Spencer, Olivia, and Dr. Brandt in the room and Spencer looked at his wife's temporary doctor.

"Despite my mom having paranoid schizophrenia, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia last month." said Spencer

Dr. Brandt looked at Olivia.

"Despite the stress you two are dealing with right now, I hope that you're. making sure to take care of yourself and the baby." said Dr. Brandt as she made a mental note to include Diana's diagnosis in the notes that she has to send to Dr. Carter.

"I am." said Olivia.

At that moment Dr. Brandt looked at Spencer.

"How old is your mom?" asked Dr. Brandt.

"My mom turned 65 years old in April, and with her twin brother not showing any signs or any family history I'm aware that I have the same chance as everyone else." said Spencer.

"I understand what you're going through since my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's two years ago and he's currently 70 years old." said Dr. Brandt.

"Is he living in a care home?" asked Spencer.

"He's living with my mom." said Dr. Brandt.

"My dad lives in DC with us since me moved in after the twins were born, and I know that it's too dangerous for my mom to live with us because I could imagine CPS knocking on our door due to an unsafe environment for the kids." said Spencer.

"So what are you doing with your mom?" asked Dr. Brandt.

"Next month she's being transferred to the psychiatric center at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC where we reside despite me being stationed in Quantico, Virginia." said Spencer.

"That's good." said Dr. Brandt.

Olivia looked at her temporary doctor.

"Are you done? Because I really need to pee." said Olivia.

"I am." said Dr. Brandt as she used a towel to wipe the now cooling gel off of Olivia's growing stomach.

20 seconds later Olivia was hurrying to the bathroom while Spencer was waiting for the print outs of the ultrasound photos of his son and making a mental note to scan one of the photos so he could email it to Garcia.

* * *

Two hours later at BAU Headquarters in Quantico, Virginia, Garcia was sitting in her lair when she noticed a recent email from Spencer with an attachment.

EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT SUPPOSED TO CONTACT YOU BASED ON THE TEXT MESSAGES FROM HOTCH, ROSSI, JJ, MORGAN, AND TARA ABOUT YOU BEING IN PROTECTIVE CUSTODY WHILE WORRYING ABOUT ME, I KNOW THAT YOU NEED SOME CHEERING UP. OLIVIA JUST HAD HER 24 WEEK ULTRASOUND AND I THOUGHT THAT SENDING YOU SOME OF THE 3D PHOTOS THAT WERE TAKEN OF DANIEL AND PICTURES OF THE KIDS WOULD HELP CHEER YOU UP A BIT. AS SOON AS THE HITMEN ARE CAUGHT AND MY DAD, OLIVIA, THE KIDS, AND I ARE HOME WE CAN MAKE PLANS TO GO SEE THE NEW STAR WARS MOVIE SINCE OLIVIA AND I HAVE BEEN EDUCATING THE KIDS ON STAR WARS.

JUST KEEP ON STAYING SAFE WHERE YOU ARE WHILE COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL OLIVIA, THE KIDS, AND I ARE HOME BECAUSE YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE SHOULD BE EXPECTING HUGS AND KISSES FROM PIPER, ALBERT, AND AVA WHILE GETTING TO FEEL DANIEL KICK.

SPENCER

Garcia looked at the photos of the kids and the ultrasound photos of Daniel and she was releasing some tears of joy just as Hotch came into her lair.

"You OK?" asked Hotch.

"Reid sent me some photos to help cheer me up." said Garcia as she showed Hotch some of the ultrasound photos, "I'm so itching to hack into Diana's medical records to find out why Reid has to be gone this long, but I don't want to invade the Reid family's privacy."

"He will tell us when he's ready." said Hotch as he smiled when he saw a picture of Piper, "This time away is good for him since he had to pull double duty after JJ and Kate left for maternity leave, but I know that everyone's missing his insights on cases."

"He promised that as soon as the hitmen are caught and he, Olivia, and the kids are home there will be plans to see the new "Star Wars" movie with him, Olivia, and Piper." said Garcia.

"Jack and I might have to join you, Reid, Olivia, and Piper since Jack and I are excited about the new movie." said Hotch.

* * *

A week later Spencer was leaving Bennington when his cellphone rang and he instantly answered it.

"Dr. Reid." said Spencer as he got into Olivia's SUV.

"Hello, Spencer." said John.

Spencer briefly smiled as he realized that his sponsor was calling to check on him.

"I take it that you saw the paperwork about me being on leave until January 11th and you wanted to check on me?" asked Spencer.

"I did, and with not getting any phone calls from you I want to see how you and your mom are doing since I'm worried about you." said John.

"My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia, and I haven't told any of my teammates yet since they have additional cases to work on while working on the hitman case." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry about your mom's diagnosis Spencer, but I have an important question that I need to have you answer truthfully since you're dealing with a lot of stress right now." said John as he took a deep breath before he spoke up, "Has the recent string of events that you are dealing with when it comes to your mom's recent diagnosis, your wife's pregnancy, and what's going on with your technical analyst made you consider relapsing?" asked John.

Spencer sighed, knowing that he couldn't lie to sponsor since John was also his superior who had looked out for him when he attended his first Beltway Clean Cops meeting.

"A little bit, and Olivia has talked to me about my cravings while I do physical activities like running, horseback riding, and swimming to help my cravings go away." said Spencer truthfully.

"Good." said John.

"Even though Olivia's now 24 weeks pregnant, I'm glad she decided that she and the kids would come along since they help distract me." said Spencer.

"You married a good woman who loves you very much Spencer, and when you first told me about her I knew that she would be the one to help you cope with the stress that you deal with from your job while helping you manage your sobriety." said John.

"It helps that Olivia knows what it's like dealing with a loved one who struggled with sobriety in the past since her mom used to be an alcoholic until she became pregnant with Olivia, causing her to sober up." said Spencer.

"So, back to your mom. Are you leaving her where she is or are you moving her closer to Washington DC so you can visit her more often until her Alzheimer's takes over?" asked John.

"Starting January 10th, she's going to be a patient at Georgetown University Hospital's inpatient psychiatric clinic because as soon as she felt Daniel kick for the first time she looked me in the eyes telling me that she now wants to move closer to Olivia, the kids, and I since it's going to be hard traveling with four kids." said Spencer.

"That's great." said John.

"I know, and aunt Ethel and Olivia are going to take my mom shopping so she can get a warmer wardrobe to help her survive east coast winters." said Spencer.

"It's going to be expensive to eventually feed seven mouths under one roof and continue paying for your mother's medical expenses since your dad's living off of retirement while your wife is a stay at home mom." said John.

"I know, but Olivia's planning on teaching again next fall since Daniel will be old enough." said Spencer before he thought of something, "And it also helps that the government has to pay me a bit more than a few of my teammates because of my PhDs even though the NSA and Georgetown always offer to pay me more than my current salary."

"That's true, but I assume that you're not ready to leave your current posting." said John as he thought about the job offers that Spencer received.

"There are a few postings like White Collar Crimes and cryptology that interests me since I enjoy both paper trails and enjoy cracking codes since I did have to crack a bunch of ciphers during my 12 years in the BAU, but if I was going to leave the BAU it would most likely when the kids are slightly older since Piper and Albert are taking after me when it comes to intelligence while Ava is showing signs of being like Olivia while already being a music prodigy." said Spencer when his phone vibrated and he saw a phone call from Rossi, "I have another call coming in so I need to take it."

"If you need to talk, you know how to reach me." said John before hanging up.

Spencer answered the call from Rossi.

"What's up?" asked Spencer.

At that moment Rossi started explaining what was puzzling him, and after hanging up he headed back to his uncle's.

* * *

Two weeks later Piper, Albert, and Ava gasped when they saw all the presents under the tree, causing Spencer to look at his kids.

"A bunch of these presents are from your aunts and uncles in DC since they couldn't come to Vegas and celebrate Christmas with us." said Spencer.

"How much longer until we go home, daddy?" asked Piper.

"We will be home in two weeks and one day." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava as they thought about how much they missed their daddy's teammates, Will, Savannah, Jack, Henry, and baby Michael.

"Now let's open up presents before we get ready for Mass." said Gordon.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava.

A few minutes later Gordon was passing out presents and all the adults couldn't help but smile as they heard Piper, Albert, and Ava scream with excitement over their presents.

* * *

After returning to uncle Gordon's from Christmas Day Mass, Spencer's cellphone rang and he saw that it was JJ.

"What's up?" asked Spencer.

"Someone wants to thank you for the Christmas gifts that you and Olivia sent him, and I told him that we had to wait since you're three hours behind us while having to attend Christmas Day Mass." said JJ.

"Please put Henry on." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled at the sound of his godson's voice.

"Hi uncle Spencer." said Henry.

"Hey there Henry." said Spencer.

"Thank you for the Christmas gifts." said Henry.

"You're welcome, bud." said Spencer.

"I miss you, uncle Spencer." said Henry as he thought about how his mom sat him down and told him that he won't be seeing his godfather, aunt Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava for two months and how upset he was.

"I miss you too." said Spencer.

"Can you come home sooner?" asked Henry.

"I can't since I'm still taking care of some things for my mom, but as soon as Olivia, the kids, and I are home and I have a weekend off I will ask your mom and dad about you sleeping over for a weekend before DJ is born." said Spencer.

"OK." said Henry before passing the phone back to his mom.

"So how's your mom doing?" asked JJ as she thought about how Spencer wasn't telling anyone about what's wrong with his mom except saying that she's doing better on her new medication while getting to spend time with Olivia, Spencer, and the kids.

"She's doing OK on her new medication regime, and I'm still tying up a bunch of loose ends so my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I can head home on the day we planned." said Spencer as he thought about how he helped his mom start packing while shipping some of her belongings to Georgetown University Hospital's inpatient psychiatric clinic so nurses there could start getting her room ready.

"Just so you know, I'm planning on stocking up your kitchen with some groceries before you, your dad, Olivia, and the kids come home." said JJ.

"I appreciate it." said Spencer.

"Is my goddaughter around?" asked JJ.

At that moment Spencer looked around the living room and smiled at the sight of Piper, Albert, and Ava asleep on the couches.

"They're asleep since going to Christmas Day Mass tired them out." said Spencer as he ended up using his phone to take a quick picture before sending it to JJ, "I just took a picture and sent it to you."

JJ looked at her phone and smiled at the sight of Piper and Ava dressed in matching green velvet dresses and Albert wearing khakis, a white dress shirt, and a green sweater vest.

"They're so adorable." said JJ.

"I know." said Spencer as Olivia came towards him, making him realize that lunch was ready, "I have to get going since lunch is finished, and I'm supposed to help make Christmas Day dinner since my dad, uncle Gordon, and I decided to make dinner while kicking Olivia and aunt Ethel out of the kitchen." said Spencer before he exchanged goodbyes with JJ and hung up so he could help wake the kids.

* * *

A week later Spencer, Olivia, William, Gordon, and the kids were bundled up and wrapped up in blankets as they sat on Gordon's property and waited for midnight, and as soon as it was the beginning of 2016, fireworks were going off in the distance and Spencer and Olivia kissed each other before giving each of the kids a kiss.

"Why are we kissing?" asked Piper.

"It's the start of the year 2016, and it's a tradition to kiss at the start of a new year." said Spencer.

"OK." said Piper as she yawned.

"I guess it's time to get the youngsters inside and up to bed." said William as he thought about how they managed to get the kids to stay up for New Years.

"Yeah." said Spencer as he got up and helped Olivia stand up before he scooped up Piper and Albert while William scooped up Ava.

"I will go get ready for bed while you two men get the kids to bed." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer.

30 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were fast asleep in bed as they wondered about what would the year 2016 bring them while Spencer thought about the update that he was given on the hitman case.

* * *

Two days later Spencer was taping up the last box that contained his mother's belongings when he looked at his mom who was looking around her nearly empty room despite the few personal belongings like books and her journal that was on her nightstand.

"Excited about living in Washington DC next Sunday?" asked Spencer.

"I am since I will be closer to you and my grandchildren, but I'm not that excited about having to deal with colder weather." said Diana as she thought about the shopping trip that Olivia and Ethel took her on to help her prepare for east coast winters.

"When I moved east it took me awhile to get used to colder weather and snow, but let's just say that Piper, Albert, and Ava are excited about you getting to play in the snow with them." said Spencer as he ended up showing his mom a picture of him Piper, Albert, and Ava by a snowman that they built.

"I can't wait either." said Diana.

* * *

Two days later Spencer, William, Olivia, and the kids were in Olivia's SUV while Diana, Ethel, and Gordon were in Ethel's car heading to DC.

* * *

 _A/N: This will be my last update for awhile since I will be moving next week and I need to finish up on packing, so the next time I post I will be settled into the house that my family and I ended up renting._


	10. Entropy Part 1: Back to Work

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to Chermayne, Hippichic81, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 9._

 _I had enough packing done (I only have to finish emptying my bedroom closet since I started it earlier this month)causing me to award myself by working on this chapter since I'm not moving until this Friday, so here's the first part that deals with Entropy._

 _This chapter starts on January 10th an hour after the entire Reid family, Gordon, and Ethel arrive in DC, and I decided to name Diana's new doctor after the veterinarian who has been taking care of my late charcoal lab Cleatus and my two other dogs who are still alive Rootbeer (She's a nine year old female chocolate lab) and two year old Zoey (The puppy in the avatar photo for this story)._

* * *

Spencer looked at his mom as she looked around her new room that was decorated just like her old room at Bennington.

"What do you think of your new room?" asked Spencer as he helped his mom unpack the last of her belongings.

"It's OK, but I know that I will need to get used to having a new room since I'm doing this for you, Olivia, and the kids." said Diana as a nurse entered the room.

"My name is Cassie Campbell and I will be one of the nurses who will be in charge of your care during the daytime." said Cassie as she looked at Diana.

Spencer looked at Cassie.

"I'm Diana's son, Dr. Spencer Reid, and after my mom gets into a routine here you will be meeting my 30 week pregnant wife Olivia and our three kids, Piper who's three and a half years old and Albert and Ava who are two and a half year old fraternal twins." said Spencer as he pointed at a picture on his nightstand that was taken during Christmas.

Cassie looked at the picture and noticed a pregnant young woman who looked around 31 or 32, a little girl who looked like she was three years old, and a boy and a girl who were the same age.

"They're beautiful and Albert looks just like you while Piper is a perfect mixture of you and your wife, and what's the gender of your fourth child?" asked Cassie.

"We're having a boy who's going to be named Daniel." said Spencer as he yawned causing Diana to look at her son.

"You should head home, Spencer, because I recall you mentioning that you have to go back to work tomorrow." said Diana.

"What do you do?" asked Cassie.

"I work for the FBI's Behavioral Analyst Unit down in Quantico, Virginia." said Spencer as he started giving Cassie a brief explanation about what he does and when he was finished he looked at Cassie, "If I can't be reached you and Dr. Hauser can contact my dad or Olivia since they're on the approved list of people who can make decisions when I'm unreachable."

"Good to know, and I agree with your mom that you should head home." said Cassie.

"We were on the road for the past three days since we drove from Las Vegas." said Spencer before he hugged his mom goodbye.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was getting ready for bed when he looked at his now 30 week pregnant wife.

"With me heading back to work tomorrow, I'm going to head over to Morgan's and Savannah's since Savannah has information that I requested." said Spencer.

"William will take me to my doctor appointment tomorrow before we go grocery shopping, and please thank JJ for cleaning and stocking up our kitchen a bit." said Olivia.

"I will." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were fast asleep in their bed.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast Piper looked at her daddy.

"When can I see grandma?" asked Piper.

"Soon, Goober, since she needs a couple of days to settle in, and maybe if she's having a good day next Monday we will see if she can come to gymnastics." said Spencer.

"OK." beamed Piper.

Spencer looked at his aunt and uncle.

"How long are you two staying in town for?" asked Spencer.

"Just until Sunday, since I want to stock up your fridge and freezer with home cooked meals to pop into the oven." said Ethel.

"You don't have to, Ethel." said Olivia.

"You're 30 weeks pregnant, Olivia, and you're going to be seeing your doctor biweekly now so pretty soon you're going to be ordered to stay off your feet more often." said Ethel.

Spencer smiled at his aunt.

"Thanks, aunt Ethel." said Spencer.

Olivia glared at her husband.

"It's a good thing you're going back to work today and going to continue working until Daniel is born." said Olivia as she groaned when she felt Daniel kick.

William looked at his son.

"I will make sure that Olivia takes it easy, son." said William.

"Thanks, dad." said Spencer as he smirked at his wife who decided to throw a biscuit that Ethel baked at Spencer's head, causing everyone but Spencer to laugh before they decided to focus on eating breakfast so Spencer could catch the train that would take him to Morgan's.

* * *

30 minutes later Spencer was standing in a park, watching a mother push her son on the swing as he thought about how his mom used to push him on the swing while thinking about the times he pushed Piper, Albert, and Ava on the swing.

"Higher, mommy, higher!" shouted the young boy.

"Careful, sweetheart." said the mother.

"Higher, mommy, higher!" shouted the boy.

A few seconds later Spencer knew that he needed to head over to Morgan's, and a few minutes later he was ringing the doorbell and Savannah opened the door.

"Hey, you!" said Savannah.

Hi." said a smiling Spencer as he waved.

"Welcome back. Come in." said Savannah.

Spencer stepped into the house.

"Thank you." said Spencer as Savannah closed the door.

"I know you're not a huge fan of physical contact unless it's your team, Olivia, your parents, and the kids. I don't care." said Savannah as she pulled Spencer into a hug, causing him to laugh just as Morgan entered the room.

"Hey, get your greasy hands off my girl since you have your own wife to put your hands on. Nice to have you, Olivia, and the kids home, kid." said Morgan as he tried to give Spencer a fist bump that Spencer chose to fail on purpose.

"Good to be back, and the kids can't wait to see you." said Spencer.

Morgan and Savannah laughed.

"Let me get my stuff." said Morgan as he walked away, allowing Savannah to grab what he asked for.

Savannah looked at him as she thought about the conversations they had about his mom's treatment at Georgetown University Hospital's psychiatric clinic.

"That thing you called about, here's some updated stats." said Savannah as she thought about how Spencer and Olivia asked her not to tell anyone.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he slipped the manila envelope into his messenger bag just as Morgan came back.

"Stats? Stats from what?" asked Morgan as he noticed a little bit of sadness in Spencer's eyes, causing him to wonder what was going on.

"Medical research. Shop talk. Things you wouldn't be interested in." said Savannah.

"Well, I can tell you what I am interested in, and that is you." said Morgan as he pulled Savannah into a kiss making Spencer turn away as he thought about the kisses he has with Olivia.

"You gonna love me forever?" asked Savannah.

"Yes, I am." said Morgan as Spencer's cellphone beeped and he saw a text from Hotch.

GARCIA AND I NEED YOU TO COME TO THE OFFICE ASAP. ~ AH

"Forever ever?" asked Savannah as she kissed Morgan again.

"For ever, ever, ever." said Morgan before they kissed again.

Spencer looked at his older brother, knowing that he had to interrupt.

"Guys. Garcia and Hotch need us ASAP. for a briefing on the 4 hitmen." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Let me give you a ride to the BAU." said Morgan as he led Spencer to the front door.

Spencer shrugged, and after they got into Morgan's truck Morgan looked at Spencer.

"How can you get a fist bump right with Hotch and not me?" asked Morgan.

"I decided to get the fist bump wrong on purpose since you refused to give me a fist bump a year ago when I owned you and Kate when you guys decided to question about my intelligence." said a smirking Spencer.

"It's good to have you back kid." said Morgan.

"I know, but I'm only at work for about another 10 weeks until Daniel's due unless he decides to be born early, like his siblings." said Spencer.

"And after DJ's born, I hope that you and Olivia are done having kids." said Morgan.

"We agreed to stop after Daniel since we wanted to have two of each." said Spencer as he thought about the long discussion he and Olivia had before he decided to get himself fixed while in Las Vegas.

* * *

Morgan entered the conference room and looked at his teammates.

"Look who I found this morning hugging my girlfriend when he has his own wife to hug." said Morgan.

Recognizing Morgan's cue, Spencer entered the conference room and JJ and Garcia got up and rushed over to Spencer and JJ hugged him.

"How's your mom?" asked JJ as she hugged Spencer before giving him a peck on the cheek.

"I will tell you guys after this case because right now I think focusing on getting Penelope out of witness protection is more important than my mom." said Spencer as he hugged Garcia a bit longer, knowing that the past eight weeks were hard on her according to Rossi, "Hopefully you will be free soon since I'm back because Piper, Albert, and Ava want to thank you for their Christmas gifts." said Spencer as he gave Garcia a light kiss on the cheek "That kiss is from Piper, Albert, and Ava since they asked me to give you one." said Spencer before he accepted greetings from Rossi and Tara.

After Hotch gave Spencer a brief hug, Hotch looked at everyone.

"Let's get to business." said Hotch as he sat down, causing everyone else to, "Brian Cochran from the NSA. I've placed him on 24/7 lock down at USP Terre Haute. The network has proven that they can kill anyone, anywhere, anytime, and now that they've targeted Garcia, we can't afford to lose another lead. Cochran used one of the hitmen to target DEA supervisor Graff."

"But we can press him on that to get him to cooperate." said Morgan.

"Well, fortunately that won't be necessary. He had a breakdown in solitary confinement and he was already willing to make a deal." said Hotch.

"We need to go talk to him." said Rossi.

"Garcia and I already did." said Hotch.

"This is, we video-conferenced with him. He was limited in what he could tell us about the hit people. He didn't know their names, but he did know all of their areas of expertise." said Garcia.

"How specific do they get? Most successful hitmen are basically just Swiss army knives of murder." said Spencer as he thought about how good it was to be back into the swing of work even though he will be on paternity leave in about 10 weeks.

"Well, take the O.G. hit guy who got us into this mess, Giuseppe Montolo. Remember him? He was a genius at making hits look like an accident. The others, depends what you're looking for. Take the guy that's still out there who's responsible for shooting poor Mr. Graff. He's known simply as the sniper. He can make a T-zone shot from over 2,000 meters." said Garcia.

"Which means he's ex-military. Not necessarily ours, but he's definitely trained." said Morgan.

"So who's number two?" asked Tara.

"That would be the chemist. He works with poison. He specializes in hits that don't leave a trace." said Garcia as she thought about how Spencer uses his chemistry skills for the good.

"He sounds delightful. What about number 3?" asked Rossi as he thought about how Spencer uses his PhD in chemistry in the field.

"Well, that would be the bomber. According to Cochran, he's responsible for this." said Garcia as she showed video footage, "It's a chemical fire in Tianjin, China. Apparently a bureaucrat didn't pay his bribe on time."

"You know that's conspiracy theory garbage." said JJ.

"But what is credible is Cochran's insistence that he was trained by Mossad. Jack Garrett's following up on leads." said Hotch.

"That leaves us with number 4, the one with the highest body count of them all." said Garcia.

"And who's that?" asked Spencer.

Hotch started explaining about the black widow before Garcia mentioned someone named Snowman, causing Rossi to look at Hotch and Garcia.

"Great. So who's this Snowman jagoff?" asked Rossi.

"Cochran says he's the I.T. expert. He's the key to the whole network." said Hotch.

"But if he set it up, he's not just gonna tear it down because we ask nicely." said Morgan.

"He will because he was kidnapped by one of the hitmen and held against his will in a safe house." said Hotch.

"I wonder how that feels." muttered Garcia as she received sympathetic looks from everyone.

"Even if they have him under duress, he's still gonna be impossible to find." said JJ.

"We will find him... With this." said Hotch as he held up the flash drive that he got off Cochran, and a short while later JJ and Rossi were going to rescue Barry Winslow, causing Spencer to take some time to check on Olivia.

"Hey Doc, I'm just leaving the hospital with your dad." said Olivia as she exited the hospital with William.

"How was your doctor appointment?" asked Spencer.

"It went very well, and Dr. Carter was a bit disappointed that you weren't there but I told her that you're working a case." said Olivia.

"I'm glad that Daniel's OK." said Spencer.

"Have you told your team about your mom yet?" asked Olivia.

Spencer looked around.

"Not yet because we're working on bringing down the hitmen, and as soon as the case is over I will tell everyone." said Spencer.

"Well I will let you get back to work since dad and I are heading to the grocery store right now." said Olivia.

"Please make sure to pick up a lot of jello." said Spencer.

Olivia laughed.

"I'm already planning on it since the kids already inherited your love for jello." said Olivia.

"I love you, Olivia." said Spencer.

"I love you too, Spencer." said Olivia before hanging up.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was eating breakfast with his dad, uncle Gordon, aunt Ethel, Olivia, and the kids and Olivia looked at her husband.

"Even though my birthday is tomorrow, I want to wait until after your current case to celebrate." said Olivia.

"Are you sure?" asked Spencer.

"You guys are working on closing the case that you've been working on since October, and with you being back at work you guys are going to finish faster." said Olivia.

"I will let my teammates know, but I'm still planning on making you breakfast in bed tomorrow." said Spencer.

"I will allow you to continue our tradition of making breakfast in bed, but no party until after your current case." said Olivia.

"Yes, ma'am." teased Spencer.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer was sitting at the conference room table with his teammates and Barry.

"I can't tell you that much about them. It's not like we had a lot of heart-to-heart conversations while they handcuffed me to a computer." said Barry.

"Do you know any of their names?" asked Tara.

"No. But I know their bank accounts." said Barry.

"How long do you think we have before the other two realize the network's been compromised?" asked Spencer as he thought about Olivia's 32nd birthday happening the next day.

"Two days, maybe. They like being independent contractors, so they always work jobs separately. And, uh, they rely on me to coordinate all their online traffic." said Barry.

"Which I can help fake." said Garcia.

"Yeah. We have the facade covered on our end, but they also have back channel communications that I can't account for. Especially the bomber." said Barry.

"Why him?" asked Rossi.

"I don't know. All I know is when they would rotate watching over me, he never showed." said Barry.

"I know why. He's paranoid. Most explosive experts are. Blow everything up, you live in fear that you're next." said JJ.

"We need to lure out the hitwoman. If we can take her alive, she'll lead us to the bomber." said Hotch.

"We have to give her a target worth coming out of hiding for." said Morgan.

"That means me, doesn't it?" asked Garcia.

"No." said Hotch.

"Sir-." said Garcia.

"Garcia, that's not gonna happen. It's too dangerous to leave you out there, exposed like that." said Morgan.

Hotch looked at Barry.

"You have a record of all the kills she was paid for?" asked Hotch.

"I have records of everything." said Barry.

"All right. Even a contract killer can have a victimology, a pattern of which she's not aware. We need to find that." said Hotch.

* * *

After going through files, Spencer headed up to Hotch's office with JJ and placed the files on Hotch's desk.

"These 3 hits-they were all men who wanted to kill their wives." said Spencer.

"That's the oldest motivation in the book. Why are they special?" asked JJ.

"She took their money, then killed the men who hired her." said Spencer.

"All 3 of them had children." said Hotch as he looked at his two youngest agent who both have kids to go home to.

"Maybe children are the line hitmen won't cross?" asked JJ.

"The chemist and the sniper both performed jobs that involved families. Theoretically, if the price is high enough, a hitman shouldn't have morals. I think these kills are personal to her. Personal enough to risk double-crossing her contract." said Spencer.

"Because something similar happened to her." said Hotch as he noticed the wheels in Spencer's brain turning.

"And that's how we get her to come to the table. I pretend to be that kind of client." said Spencer as he thought about how he fits the profile.

"How do we know that's gonna work?" asked Hotch as he thought about how Spencer was the best agent to go undercover since he's married and a father.

"We don't. It's a calculated risk based on her M.O., which is categorically different than the men." said Spencer.

"They're cold, clinical, long-distance. She's up close and personal." said JJ since she didn't want Olivia to possibly become a widow before Spencer could meet Daniel.

"She knows that she has to be more careful because she actually wants to kill her targets. With how my personal life is right now with Olivia being 30 weeks pregnant, I'm going to pretend that I want my wife dead, even though I would never want to have her killed." said Spencer.

"Well, I'd want to kill you if you really meant to have Olivia and your unborn son killed." said JJ.

"Exactly, and sometimes people don't believe me if they find out that I've been married for over four years and have three kids and another one on the way unless I show them pictures or they see me with my wife and kids." said Spencer.

"You look much younger than 34 so it's sometimes hard for people to believe you." said Hotch.

"Then all we have to do is set the right meeting spot. A bar or a restaurant we control so the odds are better of us taking her alive." said Spencer.

"That's our best strategy since you fit the profile of men that the black widow would want to kill." said Hotch before looking at JJ, "Can you please leave the room?"

JJ left the room and Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Are you sure that you want to go undercover even though you just came back after being away for eight weeks while you're only here again until Daniel's born so you can adjust to four kids?" asked Hotch.

"I want to because the profile we made on the black widow tells me that I'm the closest to her age, and with Olivia's birthday being tomorrow I want this case to be closed so we can all celebrate Olivia's 32nd birthday before my aunt and uncle have to head back to Las Vegas." said Spencer.

"What are your aunt and uncle doing in town?" asked Hotch.

"They wanted to be here for Olivia's birthday because as soon as this case is closed they're going to help take care of the kids this weekend because I'm planning on taking Olivia to a nice bed and breakfast." said Spencer as he told Hotch the partial truth.

"I know that you're hiding something since Piper told me over the phone that you seemed sad a few times, and you know where I am so you can tell me when you're ready." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer and Hotch were in the conference room with the others so they could brief them on their strategy despite the few initial protests from Morgan and Garcia about them just getting him back and that he has a pregnant wife who probably wouldn't handle the stress of him going undercover.

"Guys, I'm the closest age to the black widow meaning that she will open up to me, and with Olivia's birthday being tomorrow she requested that we hold off celebrating her birthday until this case is closed." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Barry was helping Spencer start to email the black widow about meeting before Witness Protection arrived to pick up Barry.

* * *

Later that night Spencer quietly entered the house, and after checking on the kids he headed into the master bedroom only to find Olivia in the claw foot bathtub taking a bubble bath.

"Room for one more?" asked Spencer.

"There's always room for you, Spencer." said Olivia.

A couple of minutes later Spencer was in the bathtub with Olivia, and as he massaged her lower back he decided that he needed to tell Olivia what was going on.

"Tomorrow evening I'm going undercover." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Olivia.

Spencer explained what he could, and when he was finished Olivia looked at at him.

"Please stay safe because if you get hurt I will ban you from drinking coffee for a few months after Daniel's birth." said Olivia.

"Threat duly noted love, and I will have back up while I have my gun on me." said Spencer as he shivered in the cold water.

"Help me get out and we can take a warm shower together before we head to bed." said Olivia.

"Yes, ma'am." said Spencer as he got out of the tub and pulled the plug before helping his pregnant wife out of the tub and escorting her to the shower.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was making breakfast in bed for Olivia with Piper's, Albert's, and Ava's help and he looked at his three babies.

"I'm coming home late tonight." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Piper.

"You know that auntie Penelope is staying somewhere safe because some bad people are going after her?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Piper.

"Sometimes I'm required to do something like go undercover to help lure in a bad man or a bad woman who's hard to track down, and I have gone undercover a couple of times before during my 12 years in the BAU." said Spencer.

"You stay safe daddy." said Piper firmly.

"I promise goober." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "So I need you guys to remember that I can't talk to you on the phone tonight at bedtime, but as soon as I get home I will come into your bedrooms and give you good night kisses."

"OK." said Piper as she watched her daddy put their breakfast onto a tray and a few minutes later Spencer, Piper, Albert, and Ava were creeping into the master bedroom where Olivia was waking up.

"Happy birthday mommy!" shouted Piper, Albert, and Ava as they climbed onto their mommy's and daddy's bed and started giving their mommy kisses.

"Thank you guys." said Olivia as she accepted a quick kiss on the lips from her husband.

"Albert, Ava, and I helped daddy make breakfast." said a proud Piper.

A few minutes later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava were eating breakfast together in bed before Spencer had to leave for work.

* * *

A couple of hours later Spencer was talking to Hotch while the others went to clear the place that he was going to meet the hitwoman.

"I want to swap my ring for a fake while wearing my real wedding band on a chain around my neck since Olivia suggested that I don't wear my real wedding band when she helped me pick out my outfit for tonight." said Spencer.

"I will get you one since the hit woman probably keeps them as trophies." said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "How did Olivia take the news about you going undercover?"

"She accepted my reasoning about why it has to be me to go undercover while telling me that I better stay safe or she will ban me from drinking coffee after Daniel is born, and this morning when the kids were helping me make breakfast in bed for Olivia I told them that I will be going undercover since I really can't lie to them since they're smarter than the average two and three year olds." said Spencer

"You got that right about your kids." said Hotch as he thought about the times that he watched Piper read before looking at Spencer, "And just to be safe, I'm planning that you wear your vest under your clothes."

"That was one of Olivia's requests after I explained to her what was going on because if I wasn't going to be wearing my vest she was going to kill you herself." said Spencer.

"Was that her pregnancy hormones talking?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, and I don't want to repeat a few of the threats that she gave me." said Spencer causing Hotch to chuckle.

* * *

Later that evening Spencer was tying his tie as he rushed down the stairs in the bullpen and fast walked to his desk where Garcia was working since her system was getting ready for the evening.

"Foster care records locked, loaded, and searchable." said Garcia as Spencer continued to work on tying his tie while wishing that Olivia was there to help him.

"According to the emails she sent me setting up tonight, her name is Cat. So let's assume her name is Catherine." said Spencer.

"Give me more." said Garcia.

"Suspicious death for mom, and her dad most likely went away for manslaughter." said Spencer.

"Keep it coming." said Garcia,

"Rampant abuse. She would have been in a world of pain." said Spencer as he slipped his tie underneath his buttoned up black vest and straightened his collar.

"Sadly that does not rule out any Catherines." said Garcia as she watched Spencer slip on his fake ring.

"Her first kills were most likely in the foster environment. Cross-reference all those families the Catherines went into with accidental deaths of foster dads, and focus on those that have multiple abuse complaints leveled against them." said Spencer as Garcia typed.

"Ding." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at the face that pulled up on the computer.

"Catherine Adams." said Spencer as he requested information on Cat's dad before asking for a last known picture of Daniel Adams and the locations he was frequently found at.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer was hanging up from talking to Olivia and the kids on the phone when Morgan approached him.

"Cat decided to change the address so we need to get going." said Morgan.

"OK." said Spencer as he checked the microphone that he placed under his tie.

"I will have your back and so will Tara, JJ, and Rossi." said Morgan.

A few minutes later Spencer was inside an elevator with JJ, Morgan, Tara, and Rossi as Hotch and Garcia watched the doors close on them.


	11. Entropy Part 2: The Standoff

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to Chermayne for being the 50th reviewer for this story and also a shout out to tannerose5, southernbeauty13, snowdrop65, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 10._

 _Let's just say that Lindsey Vaughn decided to stay in witness protection since her dad realized that Spencer was right in 3rd Life, making him decide that he and his daughter would attend counseling together making Lindsey decide to stay in witness protection instead of leaving and becoming a killer, so you guys will be surprised at the revelation in this chapter about what I'm going to do with Cat Adams since I already killed off Mr. Scratch in Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three so this story pretty much ends after A Good Husband. It will be AU due to Spencer making a choice about his career._

* * *

 **Previously in chapter 10**

 _A half hour later Spencer was hanging up from talking to Olivia and the kids on the phone when Morgan approached him._

 _"Cat decided to change the address so we need to get going." said Morgan_

 _"OK." said Spencer as he checked the microphone that he placed under his tie._

 _"I will have your back and so will Tara, JJ, and Rossi." said Morgan_

 _A few minutes later Spencer was inside an elevator with JJ, Morgan, Tara, and Rossi as Hotch and Garcia watched the doors close on them._

* * *

Spencer exited a cab, and less than a minute later he was approaching a hostess.

"Hi. Table for two for Spencer." said Spencer.

Less than a minute later he was at the table that was arranged for him and Cat.

"Here you are." said the hostess.

"Thank you so much." said Spencer as he sat down.

"You're welcome." said the hostess before walking away.

Spencer took a deep breath and moved his glass slightly while he thought about as soon as he arrests Cat he will be going home to Olivia and the kids to celebrate Olivia's birthday while Garcia is free, reached into his suit jacket, grabbed a rose and set it on the table. A few seconds later he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Spencer?" asked Cat as she looked at the man who was sitting down.

"Cat?" asked Spencer as they exchanged some hellos before Cat tried to hug him.

"Nice to finally-." said Cat as she tried to hug Spencer who broke out of her hug.

"Oh-sorry, I have a- a germ thing." said a stuttering Spencer as he realized that he was showing the awkwardness that hasn't been present in a really long time.

"Oh." said Cat.

"I'm kind of weird with hu-hugs." said Spencer as he thought about how he got used to physical contact over the years from his teammates while Olivia and the kids get displays of affection from him every day he's home.

"Sorry." said Cat and they didn't talk for a few seconds before she looked at Spencer, "Can I sit down?"

"Yes, please. Of course. Sit down." said Spencer as he sat down, causing Cat to follow suit before removing her jacket.

Spencer sighed as he wished that it was Olivia that he was having a date with to celebrate her birthday instead of meeting with a serial killer.

"First time doing this?" asked Cat.

"Yeah. I mean, yeah." lied Spencer as he thought about all the dinner dates he's had with Olivia since meeting her nearly four years and eight months ago.

"Yeah, I-I still get nervous, too. Really, it wasn't until an hour ago that I was like, wait, we've been trading emails back and forth, but I still have no idea what this guy looks like." said Cat.

"Hence the..." said Spencer as he pointed at the rose.

"I know. And then I was like, wait, he's going to bring a red rose, so we need to go to a nicer place, which is why I switched the restaurant last-minute-." said Cat.

"Not a problem at all." said Spencer as he thought about the times that he and Olivia would dress to the nines to go out for dinner.

"And now I need to change and put something nice on for this place, 'cause I was totally underdressed, and my whole wardrobe makes me look like a Kardashian." said Cat as she got a confused look from Spencer, "You don't know who that is, do you?"

"No, oh, yeah, Robert Kardashian. He got O.J. Simpson off. You-you don't look like his daughters." said Spencer.

"Yeah, no, I was making a joke about them." said Cat.

"No, it was good. It was a good joke." said Spencer.

"No, it wasn't." said Cat.

"It was funny." said Spencer as he and Cat both chuckled and had a brief moment of silence before ending the awkwardness.

"Can we start over? Hi, I'm Cat." said Cat.

"Hi-hi, I'm," laughed Spencer as he thought about the awkward moments that he had with Olivia, "- I'm Spencer."

"It really is nice to meet you, in person, finally." said Cat.

"It's nice to meet you." said Spencer.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself. Do you really have 4 PhDs?" asked Cat.

"Yes. Um, I-yeah, I do, I have 4 PhDs." said Spencer.

"What was your favorite book that you read last year?" asked Cat.

"Um, honestly, I've never read a book I didn't love." said Spencer as he thought about the books that he read to his kids.

"Tell me about your wife. If you don't mind." said Cat.

"I'd, uh, I'd rather not talk about her." said Spencer as he thought about how he wasn't going to bring up Olivia since he wanted to protect her and the kids.

"Might as well get it out in the open, right? That's why we're here. How long have you been married? said Cat.

"4 years." said Spencer as he knew that he was giving the truth since he has been married for nearly four years and four months.

"When is she due to give birth?" asked Cat.

Spencer cleared his throat as he thought about giving the exact number of weeks before deciding to give a different answer that was still the truth.

"Uh...A couple of- a couple of months." said Spencer before leaning forward a bit, "Should we talk about price now, or…."

"Slow down, tiger. What exactly are we negotiating here?" asked Cat.

"You know." said Spencer quietly.

"I want to hear you say it." said Cat.

"To have her killed." whispered Spencer.

"Let me see your ring." said Cat.

Spencer held out his left hand that contained his fake ring and Cat started twirling the ring that was around his finger.

"You know what that is? A noose. Only it doesn't kill you all at once. It kills you slowly, day by day. You ever feel that way?" asked Cat.

Spencer nodded.

"I feel that way all the time." said Spencer.

"Take it off." ordered Cat.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"As a sign of your commitment. To me." said Cat.

Spencer took off his loaner wedding band and passed it to Cat while being thankful that he asked Hotch for a fake ring as he listened to his teammates through his ear piece while hoping that Cat didn't notice the tan line that developed over time as he watched Cat examine the ring.

Spencer heard Hotch address him in his earpiece while being thankful that Hotch decided to be the one to communicate with him since Hotch has a knack of understanding him when it comes to coded messages.

"All right, we have you over her left shoulder. Do you copy?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked towards the camera that Hotch mentioned before tapping a finger over his hand to tell Hotch that he heard him before hearing Hotch address all the agents who were partaking in the operation that he was playing a huge role in before Cat looked at him.

"24-karat?" asked Cat.

"Mm-hmm." said Spencer as he thought about how his real wedding band was on a hidden chain around his neck.

24k times... 4 years means this ring should be dinged and nicked. But the sucker is brand-new." said Cat as she put the ring into her purse, "You're not married." said Cat.

Spencer inwardly sighed with relief, knowing that telling the truth was working even though Cat never believed him just as he heard a click under the table while ignoring Garcia and Hotch in his earpiece as he focused on Cat while thinking about when he told Hotch that he has done some of his best work under intense terror.

"Why are we here, Spencer?" asked Cat.

Spencer leaned forward a bit so people at nearby tables wouldn't get scared.

"We're here because you belong to a network of 4 hitmen who've been operating in the shadows of the Internet. You're know as Miss .45. My team and I have been hunting for months, and I knew that if I boxed you in, I could arrest you with as little resistance as possible." said Spencer confidently.

"Your team being the behavioral analysis unit of the FBI?" asked Cat.

Spencer nodded.

"You guys are good. You're the only ones that got close to us. But we got kind of close to you, too, didn't we?" asked Cat as she leaned closer to Spencer's tie, "Hi, Penelope." said Cat, causing Garcia to gasp into Spencer's earpiece, "Do you know why I'm so good at my job?"

"Because you kill without compunction or remorse." said Spencer.

"That only gets a girl so far in life. No, it's because I think through every potential outcome and then I plan accordingly. You see, I didn't walk into your trap. You walked into mine." said Cat as she continued to point her gun at Spencer from under the table.

A few minutes later Cat looked at Spencer.

"Where's your head, Spencer?" asked Cat as she scooted across the circular booth to get closer to Spencer, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about entropy." said Spencer.

"Mm-hmm." said Cat as she reached towards Spencer's revolver.

"It's the thermodynamic measure of the degradation of matter and energy in the universe. To put it another way-" said Spencer as he jumped when Cat grabbed his revolver.

"There's your gun." said Cat just as a waiter approached them.

"Good evening." said a waiter.

"Hi, uh, you know what? We've been having so much fun getting to know one another, we'll let you know when we're ready, OK? Thank you." said Cat as the waiter walked away before she looked at Spencer, "Now that we got that out of the way, will you do me a favor and tell Blondie McBlonderson over there at the bar to disappear."

Spencer looked towards the godmother of his oldest daughter as he listened to Hotch speak to JJ.

"JJ, stand down." said Hotch.

Less than a minute later JJ was walking past them.

"Thanks for playing, sweetie." said Cat as Spencer listened to Hotch speak to Rossi.

"If she learns how many agents we have outside, she'll start shooting. Dave, get ready to take her out." said Hotch.

"Yeah." said Rossi.

"Reid, do not let her get up from the table." said Hotch into his earpiece.

Spencer quickly thought about what to say before looking at Cat in the eyes.

"All right, you're in charge. Tell me what you want and I'll see if I can get it here for you." said Spencer as he thought about how he can't say no to Piper, Albert, and Ava when they beg him to buy them something.

"Anything I want?" asked Cat.

"Anything you want." said Spencer.

"Like a million dollars in unmarked bills, maybe a plane to Aruba?" asked Cat.

"Is that what you want?" asked Spencer and he knew that Cat would know that there was law enforcement outside.

"And you'll say you'll bring it here, but the real plan is to distract me from what is, I'm sure, an impressive law enforcement response just outside that door. Is that the plan?" asked Cat.

"That's the plan." said Spencer.

"Ok, let's talk, but let's talk about something interesting, at least. Tell me about me." said Cat.

"You? You're a black widow hitwoman. You specialize in seduction and you're patient. You learn everything you can about the men you're hired to kill, physically, psychologically, and emotionally, because you want them in as compromised a position as possible so they don't see it coming when you pull the trigger." said Spencer.

"And when I do it really well, they pull the trigger themselves. Give me your phone." said Cat.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"Because I know what I want now. I want to play a game with you. You like games?" asked Cat.

"I do." said Spencer as he thought about the games that he played with his team, his parents, Olivia, and the kids.

"Do you win?" asked Cat.

"I always win." said Spencer while knowing that Gideon always beat him at chess until he improved his skills.

"Give it to me." said Cat.

Spencer reached into his pocket and grabbed a phone that Hotch gave him so he could make sure that Cat didn't see the picture of the kids that he kept as his screen saver.

"Ok, here's my game." said Cat as she set a timer on the phone, "You have 30 minutes to answer every question I ask. And if you lie, I'll know. Because I've spent the past 10 years of my life studying men and their lies before I kill them. Do you believe me?"

"I do." said Spencer.

Cat smiled.

"That was true. You're getting this. Now, here's how we'll know who wins at the end of 30 minutes. If you win, you'll drag me out of here in handcuffs. But if I win, you will escort me out like a gentleman, to make sure I exit safely. What do you say, Spencer? Think you can win this one?" asked Cat.

Spencer motioned Cat to lean forward a bit before he spoke quietly.

"Considering everything you've put Garcia and so many people through, you're going to have to shoot me in the face before you walk out of here." said Spencer as he thought about how Hotch forced him to wear a Kevlar vest under his clothes.

Cat looked at him for a few seconds before smirking.

"Game on." said Cat.

"Oh, boy." said Garcia through the mic as she thought about how rare it is to see Spencer in this fashion.

"What do you want to ask me?" asked Spencer.

"How you found me, of course. A professional learns from her mistakes." said Cat as she started the timer on the phone.

"We got our big break in the case at the end of last year. I didn't learn how big until I came back from some time off." said Spencer.

Cat perked up at the last part.

"Why'd you take time off?" asked Cat.

Spencer started explaining the reunion he had with a coworker.

"Stop." said Cat.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"You didn't tell me why you took time off." said Cat.

"It's not relevant." said Spencer.

"That's not the game. The game is you answer every question I ask. Is it a secret?" asked Cat.

"No." said Spencer as he thought about how he's been able to withhold his mother's diagnosis and have her relocated to Georgetown University Hospital.

"Is it dirty?" asked Cat.

"No." said Spencer.

"Then tell me." said Cat.

"It's not important to your story." said Spencer.

"Out of curiosity, is it me you don't want to tell or the people listening in?" asked Cat as Spencer glanced at the phone to see how much time was left.

"Is this really how you want to spend your 30 minutes?" asked Spencer.

"Yes. No. Ok, so you were saying you showed up for work that morning and..." started Cat.

"We learned that someone unexpected decided to talk." said Spencer.

"And who would that be?" asked Cat.

Spencer started explaining what was talked about during briefing, and when he got to the part about the Black Widow, Cat looked at him.

"Me." said Cat.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"Wow, that was really impressive. Yeah, the way you just made all those brilliant deductions with all that information that was just handed to you on a silver platter. Quick question-are you guys really profilers or are you just lucky? Because this, what I'm about to say-" said Cat as she cleared her throat, "is profiling. The reason you took time off from work was to deal with the same girl who broke your heart."

"No." said Spencer, knowing that Cat wasn't even close.

"The death of a parent, then." said Cat.

Spencer slightly hesitated since he knew that his mom would most likely be gone before his dad.

"No." said Spencer.

"Ah, hello, I'm getting close. It's mom or dad in the billiard room with the candlestick." said Cat.

Spencer slightly glared at Cat.

"Oh, you're mad at me, aren't you?" asked Cat.

"Not even a little bit." said Spencer.

"Yes, you are, I can tell." said Cat.

"No offense, but you're not really worth getting angry at." said Spencer as he thought about child molesters like Dr. Malcolm who made him more angry and confronting his own dad after no contact for 17 years.

"So you figured out what the 4 of us did, and then what?" asked Cat.

"We profiled that you operated as spokes on a wheel. Somehow it had to be centralized, how you got jobs, who paid you. Somebody did all that for you." said Spencer.

"You found the Snowman, didn't you?" asked Cat.

Spencer nodded as he explained what happened and when he got to the part about the flash drive, Cat looked at him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm confused. What just happened there?" asked Cat.

"When we arrested Cochran, we found a flash drive, one that gave us access to a specific shadow of the Darknet, one we didn't even know existed. Garcia used it to find the website that Snowman set up for all of you. Once we had the website, we had geography, specifically, the safe house you were keeping him in. So we waited until the shift change when we knew we could take two of you down at once." said Spencer as he explained what happened before an impressed Cat looked at him.

"Well, well, well, you took the chemist and the sniper out of commission, huh?" asked Cat.

"Did you know?" asked Spencer.

"I knew something was off. They didn't bid on some contracts. And this isn't the kind of job where you get to take time off to be with your..." said Cat as she looked at Spencer, causing her to think that he's a mama's boy, "Mother? Is it your mom? It's gotta be your mom. Why'd you take time off from the FBI?"

"I'm not gonna tell you." said Spencer as he thought about not wanting to reveal his mother's diagnosis through their ear pieces.

"Spencer, why did you take time off from the FBI?" asked Cat.

"You can ask me as many times as you want, and you can continue to waste your time, but I'm still not gonna tell you." said Spencer.

"Then you're cheating, and I don't like cheaters." said Cat.

"You don't get everything you want just because you're pointing a gun at me under a table. You're not the first killer to point a gun at me. You're not even the first woman to point a gun at me." said Spencer as he smirked a bit, "Sorry."

"You're really gonna take this all the way, aren't you?" asked Cat.

Spencer nodded.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"So am I." said Cat just as Spencer heard Hotch address Rossi through his earpiece.

"Dave, go." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Cat as he knew that Rossi was coming towards them.

"Look at my face. Does it look like I'm bluffing?" asked Cat.

"I know you're not bluffing." said Spencer.

Cat slid closer to him as she saw Rossi coming towards them with his gun.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time. Before you say no, I want you to consider something." said Cat as she put her finger over the mic on Spencer's tie, "I'll kill the fed walking toward me first. A stationary target's easier to hit. After that it's a free-fire zone."

"Fine, I'll tell you." said Spencer quietly as he made plans to burn his tie a soon as he got home.

"Sorry, what was that?" asked Cat.

"I'll tell you." said Spencer in a louder voice before addressing Rossi, "Rossi, stand down."

When he didn't hear Rossi walking away he looked back at Rossi while giving him the puppy dog eye look.

"Please." said Spencer.

As soon as Rossi walked away, Spencer looked at Cat as he fixed his tie.

"My mom has schizophrenia, and the doctor has changed her medication, which seemed to agitate her, and so I went to the treatment center to help her." said Spencer as he knew that he had to leave out that he wanted to spend time with his pregnant wife and kids since Cat didn't believe him.

"That's it?" asked Cat.

"That's it." confirmed Spencer.

"You just risked your life over mommy's pills?" asked Cat.

"It's the truth." said Spencer.

"It's part of the truth. You're holding something back." said Cat as she reached towards the phone, "Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna penalize you by adding 10 minutes. And keep in mind that the only reason you're not dead right now is because I did learn something important." said Cat as she added more time.

"Oh, really? What's that?" asked Spencer.

"Your backup. I flushed them out. It's just you and me now." said Cat.

* * *

Meanwhile at the table where Morgan and Tara were, Morgan and Tara clinked their glasses together.

"Guess again, bitch." said Tara before taking a sip of her drink.

* * *

"So when we left off, the score was you had two of our guys and the Snowman. You must have thought you were home free." said Cat.

"No. If anything, the case was harder. But first we had to get the data that we needed from the Snowman. From that we could start to build the profile that would lead us to you. When we knew what we were looking for, the pattern was obvious." said Spencer as he explained what he found out while repeating the conversation but not mentioning Olivia and his kids and mentioning that there was a flaw.

"You. You're the flaw. You're not married and you don't have children." said Cat, not even realizing that Spencer was telling the truth earlier.

Spencer inwardly smirked.

"I'm the person on my team who's the closest to your age, and I knew that if I lost control of the situation, you'd be more likely to negotiate with a peer." said Spencer.

"You have zero control here. None. I outflanked you from the beginning." said Cat.

"Some of your moves were pretty obvious." said Spencer as he thought about the vest that he was wearing under his dress shirt.

"Such as?" asked Cat.

"Such as showing up armed. Such as changing the venue at the last moment." said Spencer.

"I needed a restaurant full of innocents in case this was a trap." said Cat.

"If you really suspected this was a trap, then why show up at all? Even when you first laid eyes on me, from the bar, from outside, from wherever you were, you should have seen through me and kept on moving, but you didn't. You couldn't. Because you can't get to the man you really want to hurt, so you need to hurt any man who reminds you of him." said Spencer.

"That's kind of boilerplate psychology, isn't it? I'm just another girl with daddy issues." said Cat.

Spencer thought about how his own childhood was and how he decided to help people instead of becoming a killer like Cat.

"You'd be surprised how many killers do what they do because of their parents. If it's so boilerplate, why don't we test that theory? How hard did you look for him?" asked Spencer as he thought about when he tracked down his dad.

"Very hard." said Cat icily.

"And how disappointed were you when you realized that you will never find him? You needed some other outlet for your rage, and for a while this worked, but it also tripped you up. Can I tell you a little secret? Everything eventually falls apart. The trick is accepting when it's over." said Spencer as he thought about how long it took him to accept his mom's diagnosis while remembering that Piper, Albert, and Ava being there as comic relief and the upcoming birth of Daniel are reasons why he's still smiling for his kids while Olivia tells him that it's OK to break down when it's just him and her in the room as they started at each other until the timer went off.

"Except it ain't over, is it?" asked Cat.

"Do you really think I'm just gonna let you walk out of here?" asked Spencer.

"You profiled so much about me, except you forgot to ask the most important question. Why would I make you sit here for 30 minutes?" asked Cat.

"Because you're stalling." said Spencer.

"Then you don't know me at all. Did you guys think that I'd show up here without an escape plan? Or is that what just another girl with daddy issues do? Maybe if you hadn't fallen victim to your own gender bias, and, yes, all men have gender bias, even you, Dr. Reid, you would have recognized that your entire strategy was based on one faulty detail. Can you see it?" asked Cat.

Spencer flashed back to Barry talking, causing him to realize that the bomber was there.

"You're not here alone." said Spencer.

"And my partner? Less paranoid than you think." said Cat.

"You planted a bomb in the building." said Spencer as he knew that JJ and Rossi would be the ones to look for the bomb since Morgan and Tara were still in the room.

"I didn't. My job was to keep your entire team focused on us, so he could do what he does best." said Cat as Spencer listened to JJ, Rossi, and Hotch talk about the bomb before he focused on Cat.

"There are innocent people here." said Spencer as anger laced through his voice.

"Yes, there are. So let me remind you what we're playing for. Not only will I walk out of here, but you will make sure I leave safely. And from where I'm sitting... It looks like I've won. You need to pay attention to this part. I'm going to tell you the terms of my victory. I want you to move all of your backup away from this building. If I walk out of here and I see one cop, I will incinerate us all." said Cat.

"I can't do that." said Spencer.

"Spencer-." said Cat.

"It's not me. What you're asking takes time." said Spencer just as Cat grabbed his tie.

"This is to whoever's in charge. Unless you guys want to be responsible for the biggest FBI disaster since Waco, you will back off now." said Cat firmly as she released Spencer's tie, "Watch this." said Cat as she talked a bit before seeing waiters and waitresses approach tables.

"Look at that. There they go." said Cat.

"All we want to do-." said Spencer.

"Minimize the collateral damage. I get it. I'm not mad. It'll give me the cover I need to slip out. I just need to know it's clear, so do me a favor and tell your boss that nobody leaves until it's safe for me to." said Cat just before Hotch addressed Spencer.

"Reid, perimeter agents are pulling back. You have to let her go." said Hotch.

Spencer looked down a bit as he thought about what Hotch said.

"Well?" asked Cat and after a minute of silence Cat looked at him again. "Spencer..." said Cat while using a sing song voice.

"You can leave." said Spencer.

Cat huffed as she stood up and started to walk away, allowing Spencer to stop her.

"But you won't." said Spencer firmly.

"I'm sorry?" asked Cat.

"Double or nothing. You need to sit back down." said Spencer firmly.

"Reid, what are you doing?" asked Hotch in his ear piece.

"Wow, now you're stalling." said Cat.

"You played your trump card, but I have one, too." said Spencer firmly.

"Thanks for dinner. I had fun." said Cat before trying to walk away.

"I found your father." said Spencer.

Cat turned around.

"No, you didn't." said Cat.

"Look at my face. Am I bluffing? I'll tell you where he is. But you need to sit back down and listen to the rest of my story." said Spencer firmly.

"No. Tell me now. Or I'll-" said Cat.

"Detonate the bomb? You're not gonna do that, Cat, because then you won't learn anything. You said you were good at your job because you think through every outcome. Well, guess what- so do I." said Spencer as he thought about how he and Olivia communicate when it comes to their kids.

Cat joined him back at their table.

"All right. Finish the story." said Cat.

"To prepare for this dinner, I had to learn everything about you, starting with your real name." said Spencer as he told Cat about how he tracked her down before mentioning her father, "Daughter of Daniel Adams, who did in fact leave the country in 1987 but returned in 2012. Based on confidential records in rehabs and sober living houses, which in turned pointed us to flophouses and soup kitchens. He couldn't put 24 hours together sober. And you can probably imagine my surprise when I discovered that he actually lives right here in DC." said Spencer.

"Where?" asked a shocked Cat.

"It's not that simple. He was in bad shape when I found him." said Spencer as he explained the conversation he had with Daniel before Cat looked at him.

"He didn't remember me?" asked Cat.

"The alcoholism shredded his brain. I'm sorry." said Spencer.

"You're not sorry. Sorry is what people say when they don't understand." said Cat before looking at the saddened face that Spencer was currently showing before remembering that he took time off for his mom, "Wait. Your mother-tell me."

"Is-is this part of the game?" asked Spencer as he knew that he had to tell his teammates the truth through their ear pieces since they were listening in on him.

"No. The game's over." said Cat.

Spencer sighed, knowing that he can explain to them later.

"When I looked at her medical chart, it-it didn't make any sense. The medication that they gave her should have been helping, but I couldn't figure out what was making her so angry. So, I, uh, I went to see her. The moment I walked in her room, I saw it. For 3 seconds... She didn't know who I was." said Spencer as he thought about how his mom also thought that he just turned 29 meaning that she didn't remember Olivia or her grandchildren, "I, um, I had her tested that morning, and I found out that night… That she had early onset of dementia. Most likely Alzheimer's." said Spencer as he used early onset as a way to lie since it wasn't early onset at all due to his mom being 65.

"Did you test yourself?" asked Cat.

Spencer put his head down since he knew that he couldn't bring up his uncle Gordon and his dad getting tested since they were both either 65 or 66 years old.

"No, you didn't. You were too scared." said Cat.

* * *

Meanwhile in Garcia's lair, Garcia looked at Hotch since she knew that Spencer's more open about his fears to Hotch.

"Did you know?" asked Garcia.

"No." said Hotch sadly as he thought about his ex father in law.

* * *

Morgan, who was watching Spencer listened in while being glad that Olivia, William, and the kids went to Vegas with Spencer so he didn't have to deal with Diana's diagnosis alone.

"I thought I dodged a bullet when I turned 30 and didn't have a schizophrenic break like her, but, uh, this is somehow bigger and scarier because I can actually see it happening. All the memories that we used to share are just dying." said Spencer before he decided to become more confident again, "I can't stop it. I can't help her. All I can do is find people that I can help."

"Is that really why you showed up tonight? To help me? Do you know how many men have told me that they wanted to help me? How do you think that worked out for them?" asked an angry Cat.

Spencer listened in on his teammates dealing with the bomb and profiling the bomber before looking at Cat.

"You're right that you don't need my help, you don't need anyone's help, you are completely in control." said Spencer as he hoped that Morgan and Tara could find the bomber so he can be there to witness his son's birth in about 10 weeks before seeing Morgan and Tara take down the bomber before disarming the bomb, causing Cat to get Spencer up and point a gun at his chin.

"Don't!" shouted Cat as she looked at Morgan.

"FBI. Everybody stay calm, please." said Morgan as people panicked.

"We're gonna be smart about this and talk it out. Aren't we, Cat?" asked Tara as she handcuffed the bomber.

"That's up to you." said Cat.

"Get everyone out of here." said Spencer as he continued to stay calm.

"Move." ordered Tara as guests quickly left the restaurant.

"Morgan, you, too." said Spencer as he looked at the godfather of Albert and Ava.

"I'm not going anywhere." said Morgan as Tara led the bomber out of the restaurant.

"Guess we're right back where we started. You and me with a gun." said Cat.

"Reid, it's time." said Morgan.

"No." said Spencer as he continued to take deep breaths in order to stay calm.

"We don't have a choice. We have to do it." said Morgan.

"Do what?" asked Cat.

"Morgan, shut up." said Spencer.

"There's one thing he hasn't told you yet." said Morgan.

"That's not true. He's lying. Don't listen to him." said Spencer

"What haven't you told me?" demanded Cat.

"Nothing. I told you-nothing! Nothing!" shouted Spencer.

"What don't I know?" asked Cat.

"We brought your father here." said Morgan.

Spencer sighed heavily as he glared at Morgan.

"Here? He's here?" asked Cat.

"He's right outside. Reid thought he needed every bargaining chip he could get." said Morgan.

"Morgan, I'm begging you, don't. Don't." pleaded Spencer.

"Every bargaining chip he could get to convince you to do the right thing." said Morgan.

"How is this the right thing?" asked Cat.

"Your father killed your mother. And there's no statute of limitations on murder, so you really need to think about your options right now. You shoot him, I will kill you. Or if you surrender, you will live to testify against your father." said Morgan.

"That's not good enough." said Cat.

"We can arrange it for the two of you to drive into custody together, and then you can remind him of who you are." said Morgan.

"If you give her this, she wins." said Spencer.

"Don't do it. Kid, I am trying to save your life. Now let me do that." said Morgan as he thought about Daniel's upcoming birth as they heard beeping, "They're bringing him in right now." said Morgan.

Cat looked up at Spencer.

"You're really upset about this, aren't you?" asked Cat.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it, a chance to finally hurt the man who deserves it?" asked Morgan.

"They all deserve it." said Cat.

"He deserves it the most." said Morgan.

Spencer let out a few breaths as he shook his head at Morgan.

"Only if Spencer escorts me out." said Cat.

"Deal." said Spencer.

Cat put down her gun and a few seconds later Spencer was handcuffing Cat, and as soon as he got Cat outside she stopped walking.

"Wait." said Cat as she looked at Spencer for a moment, "Ok, I'm ready."

Spencer started escorting Cat to the van, and as soon as Spencer opened the doors of the police van, Cat saw that it was empty as Spencer helped her climb up the stairs so he could start chaining her legs.

"You lied to me." cried Cat.

"If it makes you feel any better, I really- I did look for him. But...I couldn't find him, so, yeah, I did make it all up." said Spencer.

"Not all of it. You don't pull a story about a parent losing her memory out of nowhere. Your mother and the Alzheimer's, that's true. I won." said Cat.

"How so?"asked Spencer.

"Because I will get out of here." said Cat.

Spencer smirked.

"It's already been decided that you and your bomber friend will be executed this spring due to all the people you two killed." said Spencer flatly as he enjoyed the sight of Cat's face falling before he smirked, "Just so you know, a majority of the lies that I was telling you about my personal life were actually the truth since I believe that teaching my three year old, my two year old fraternal twins, and eventually my unborn child that lying isn't OK. So I win." said Spencer before stepping out of the van and walking away as the engine started.

* * *

Spencer walked in step with Morgan as they arrived at Morgan's, and Morgan looked at him.

"So... You want to come in, decompress a bit?"

"I'm good. I'm probably just gonna go home and give my kids a kiss goodnight even though they're in bed right now." said Spencer.

"That was an intense case." said Morgan.

Spencer laughed as he thought about how much action he got during his first case back.

"Yeah. It's over. Network's gone." said Spencer.

"Yeah." said Morgan before becoming serious, "Reid. That medical research that Savannah gave you, was that..."

"It's updated stats on treatment for Alzheimer's and information about support groups in the area since Savannah thinks that attending one wouldn't be a bad idea and I actually have to agree since I attended one while in Vegas." said Spencer before smiling slightly, "I didn't get myself tested because of my mom being 65, meaning that its not early onset at all so I had to lie to Cat."

"That's good." said Morgan.

"My dad and uncle Gordon got tested, and with their test results being negative and both of them telling me that there's no family history at all, I have the same chance as everyone else." said Spencer just as the door opened revealing a drunk and excited Garcia.

"Oh, my God." said Garcia as she stumbled down the stairs causing Spencer to smile.

"Oh, hey, whoa, whoa, whoa. What is happening right now?" asked Morgan as Garcia approached him.

"You're what's going on. Right now is what's- you are here. Do you know what's happening right now? It is-it is done. The Dirty Dozen is done. Yes, done. I'm in it! It's..." said Garcia as Savannah came outside.

"How much did she have?" asked Morgan.

"She started out with Jaeger." said Savannah.

"I love you." said Garcia.

"Jaeger?" asked Morgan.

Garcia looked at Morgan.

"I love you." said Garcia.

"OK." said Morgan.

Garcia made her way over to Spencer.

"And you- even though your married, I love you so much." said Garcia causing Spencer to smile and laugh as Savannah laughed along.

Garcia turned towards Savannah.

"And you, I should be jealous of you because you're so hot. But I'm not. I'm not. I promise you I'm not. I'm not. I promise. No, I'm not. 'Cause you know what? All I feel in here is love. I just- I am feeling- I'm full of love. So much love. I'm wearing too many clothes." said Garcia as she rushed towards the house and went inside.

"Uh, I got this." said Savannah as she ran after Garcia while both men laughed.

"Oh! You sure you don't want to reconsider?" asked Morgan.

"I think I'm ok. I'm just gonna- I really just want to go home since like I mentioned before, I want to go give my sleeping kids a goodnight kiss before I pamper Olivia a bit since it's still her birthday." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Hey, kid. Can I tell you something?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

Morgan pulled Spencer into a hug as he thought about with how much Spencer has gone through in his life while still coming out stronger than ever.

"I just, uh..." said Morgan as he patted Spencer on the back.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"You know?" asked Morgan.

"I know. I know." said Spencer as he returned the embrace while sniffling a bit.

"Good. Because I mean it." said Morgan before releasing Spencer, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Livy mentioned about her and the kids coming to the BAU tomorrow since we have an announcement to make." said Spencer.

"Is it about DJ's godparents?" asked Morgan.

"Nope." said Spencer.

"You're leaving due to your mom?" asked Morgan.

"I'm not leaving at all, but it's some good news that you will find out since my dad, Olivia, and the kids are planning on coming into work with me tomorrow since the kids really want to see you guys while you get to feel Daniel kick for the first time in two months." said Spencer before walking away towards the park that he stopped at over three days ago and sat down on the swing.

After spending an hour on the swing he didn't realize that Hotch sat down next to him, and when he felt a hand on his arm he turned to see Hotch.

"Spencer." said Hotch as he took in the sight of the tear stains on Spencer's face.

Spencer turned to his right only to see boss who was looking worriedly at him.

"How did you find me?" asked Spencer as he thought back a past conversation with Gideon, wishing that Gideon was still alive.

"Olivia called me when you didn't come home and didn't answer her phone calls or responding to her text messages, and after finding out that you didn't stay at Morgan's to continue witnessing a very drunken Garcia, I ended up profiling the places where you most likely be and this park was the first on my list." said Hotch.

* * *

 _A/N: I ended up deciding to end this chapter with Hotch finding Spencer in the park due to this chapter already being over 7,200 words long so Entropy will be concluded in the next chapter since Spencer and Hotch will have a heart to heart talk, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava getting to see Spencer's teammates for the first time in two months, and Olivia's belated birthday celebration since she requested to wait with celebrating her birthday with the team since she wanted Garcia to be free first._


	12. Entropy Part 3: Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, OhSnapItsMadison, Chermayne, and southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 11._

 _One of my favorite movies is referenced in this chapter, and let's just say that the movie that's reference is the movie portrayal of one of Olivia's favorite books._

* * *

Previously in chapter 11

 _ **Morgan pulled Spencer into a hug as he thought about how much Spencer has gone through in his life while still coming out stronger than ever.**_

 _ **"I just, uh..." said Morgan as he patted Spencer on the back.**_

 _ **"Yeah." said Spencer.**_

 _ **"You know?" asked Morgan.**_

 _ **"I know. I know." said Spencer as he returned the embrace while sniffling a bit.**_

 _ **"Good. Because I mean it." said Morgan before releasing Spencer, "I'll see you tomorrow."**_

 _ **"Livy mentioned about her and the kids coming to the BAU tomorrow since we have an announcement to make." said Spencer.**_

 _ **"Is it about DJ's godparents?" asked Morgan.**_

 _ **"Nope." said Spencer.**_

 _ **"You're leaving due to your mom?" asked Morgan.**_

 _ **"I'm not leaving at all, but it's some good news that you will find out since my dad, Olivia, and the kids are planning on coming into work with me tomorrow since the kids really want to see you guys while you get to feel Daniel kick for the first time in two months." said Spencer before walking away towards the park that he stopped at over three days ago and sat down on the swing.**_

 _ **After spending an hour on the swing he didn't realize that Hotch sat down next to him, and when he felt a hand on his arm he turned to see Hotch.**_

 _ **"Spencer." said Hotch as he took in the sight of the tear stains on Spencer's face.**_

 _ **Spencer turned to his right only to see boss who was looking worriedly at him.**_

 _ **"How did you find me?" asked Spencer as he thought back a past conversation with Gideon, wishing that Gideon was still alive.**_

 _ **"Olivia called me when you didn't come home and didn't answer her phone calls or responding to her text messages, and after finding out that you didn't stay at Morgan's to continue witnessing a very drunken Garcia, I profiled the places you would most likely be and this park was the first on my list." said Hotch.**_

* * *

Spencer grabbed the handkerchief from the front pocket of his suit jacket and wiped his tears before looking at Hotch.

"I was going to tell you guys about my mom's diagnosis after this case, but I wanted to wait until Garcia was free." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "One thing that I'm glad about is that both dad and Olivia wouldn't take no for an answer when they told me that they're coming with so I don't have to deal with everything alone."

"I'm glad too, and I bet that the rest of the team is glad that your dad, Olivia, and the kids went with you." said Hotch.

"When I told the kids about their grandma's diagnosis, Piper started crying about her grandma eventually forgetting her and her siblings causing me to tell the kids that their grandma will always love them because even though there were times that my mom's violent episodes scared me when I was a child I knew that my mom would always love me." said Spencer.

"Last April I ended up telling Jack the same thing when Jessica and I had to tell him about his grandpa Roy being diagnosed with Alzheimer's so I understand what you're going through." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Hotch in shock.

"Roy was the reason why I took a couple of hours off last April." said Hotch.

"So what did Jessica do with her dad since most Alzheimer's patients are put into care homes if family members can't take care of them?" asked Spencer.

"He's currently living with her, and a nurse comes by daily to assist him while Jessica's at work." said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "With your mom being on new medication is she staying where she is or did she finally agree to move out here so she can see you and her grandchildren more often?"

"Let's just say that feeling her unborn grandson kick for the first time made her decide to transfer to a hospital in DC, and after talking to Dr. Jesson it was decided that she will be an inpatient at Georgetown University Hospital's psychiatric clinic since she wants to make as many memories with my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I as possible without us having to travel across the country to visit her." said Spencer.

Hotch quickly connected the dots, realizing that Ethel and Gordon were in town since they were most likely in charge of transporting Diana.

"So with your aunt and uncle being in town, I assume that they helped transport your mom?" asked Hotch.

Spencer nodded.

"They insisted on driving my mom since dad and I had to focus on driving Olivia and the kids." said Spencer before looking at his watch and noticed that it was 10 PM, "Only two more hours until Livy's birthday is over, and I promised her a massage due to the lower back pain that she's dealing with."

"Let me give you a ride home since I told Olivia that I would bring you home." said Hotch as he got off the swing before making his way to Spencer and held out his hand that Spencer took before he helped his youngest agent stand up.

"I hope that Olivia's not upset that I didn't go home right away like I promised." said Spencer as both men walked to Hotch's car.

"She told me to tell you that she isn't because she knew that you needed some time to yourself." said Hotch

Spencer checked his phone and chuckled at the text message he recently received from Olivia.

CAN YOU PLEASE GO PICK UP SOME BIRTHDAY CAKE FLAVORED ICE CREAM? ~ OR

"What is it?" asked Hotch.

"Livy's craving birthday cake flavored ice cream." said Spencer.

"Then let's go pick some up for Olivia, and it will be my treat." said Hotch as he unlocked his car.

"You don't have to Hotch." said Spencer as he got into the front passenger seat.

"I want to, and I want to get Jack's favorite ice cream." said Hotch.

* * *

Spencer quietly entered the house and lightly shook his head when he saw Olivia wrapped up in one of his sweaters watching "The Book Thief" while eating Elephant Tracks ice cream straight from the carton as tears streamed down her face while she watched Liesel cry over Rudy's death before kissing her dead best friend and lover.

"I got the ice cream that you asked for." said Spencer as he held up a grocery bag that contained a carton of ice cream and chocolate syrup.

Olivia turned her head.

"Aaron gave you a ride home?" asked Olivia.

"He did, and he didn't mind stopping at the store so I could pick up some ice cream." said Spencer as he made his way over to his wife and sat down next to her on the couch.

"Penelope called me when she was on her way to Derek's house, and let's just say that I need to award you for some of your actions because Penelope said that you were very sexy." said Olivia as she smirked wickedly at her husband.

Spencer groaned as he felt his body reacting.

"With having uncle Gordon and aunt Ethel staying here, I think that a bubble bath would be a better idea." said Spencer as he helped his wife up.

"Go give our sleeping kids goodnight kisses while I get everything started in the bathroom." said Olivia.

After putting the ice cream in the freezer and locking up the house, Spencer quietly went into the girls bedroom and kissed his sleeping daughters goodnight before quietly creeping into Albert's bedroom and gave his son a kiss before heading into the master bathroom where Olivia was already getting the bathtub filled up causing him to start stripping down before helping his wife out of her clothes and helped her into the tub before getting in himself.

* * *

The next day at 1 PM, Spencer entered the conference room with his dad, Olivia, and the kids, and Piper ran to her godfather right away while Albert and Ava ran to their godparents.

"I missed you uncle Aaron." said Piper as she gave her godfather a kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you too Piper, and you have definitely grown while you were out west with your mommy, daddy, and grandpa." said Hotch as he tightly hugged his goddaughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek before passing her to JJ who hugged her instantly.

After Garcia had her reunion with Piper, Albert, and Ava she made her way over to Olivia.

"Look at you Olivia." said Garcia as she rested her hands on Olivia's belly and she smiled when she felt a kick, "I missed this." said Garcia as she stepped away so the others could feel the baby kick, causing smiles.

"How far are you now?" asked Tara as she removed her hand from Olivia's belly.

"This Saturday I will be 31 weeks pregnant." said Olivia.

Garcia looked at Olivia.

"Sorry that your birthday celebration ended up getting postponed because of me." said Garcia.

Olivia pulled Garcia into a hug the best she could and whispered into her ear.

"It's OK that we waited until tonight because I wanted you to be free." said Olivia before breaking out of the hug.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"Henry and Michael can't wait to see you tonight." said JJ.

"I'm excited to see Jack, Henry, and Michael since phone calls and Skype chats didn't do justice, but I know that I was where I needed to be for the past two months." said Spencer.

"All the pictures you sent me of Michael is getting me excited about DJ's arrival." said Olivia as she rested her hands on her belly.

JJ looked at Olivia.

"When it came to having to deal with a colicky Michael nearly two months ago I was thinking about how brave you are to have four kids in four years." said JJ.

"It isn't easy, but I love all my babies." said Olivia.

Piper who was now on Morgan's hip looked at her mommy.

"I no baby because I'm a big girl." said Piper.

Spencer took his oldest daughter from Morgan and swooped her onto his shoulders.

"No matter how big you get, you and your little sister will always be daddy's little girls." said Spencer.

Piper pouted causing some laughter, and as soon as the laughter stopped Spencer looked at his father as he swooped Piper off his shoulders.

"Would you mind taking the kids to the break area where there should be some juice and snacks?" asked Spencer.

"Sure Spencer." said William as he gave his son a brief hug before he looked at his three grandchildren, "Let's go eat some snacks." said William as he decided to scoop up Albert and took one of Piper's hands while Piper took Ava's hand with her free hand, "Let's go." said William before he left the room with his grandchildren.

A few seconds later Olivia squeezed her husband's hand as Spencer looked at his teammates who were all looking worried.

"What I said about my mom's diagnosis is true, but it's not early onset since she's 65." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "My dad and uncle Gordon decided to get tested, and their test results were negative."

"That's great, and do either your maternal or paternal side of your family have any family history of Alzheimer's and dementia?" asked Tara.

"No family history at all, and I decided not to get tested since I have the same chance as everyone else." said Spencer.

Tara looked at Olivia.

"Do you know if there was any family history?" asked Tara.

"As far as I know there's no family history at all since none of my grandparents had either illness, and I will never know if my parents would have ended up with Alzheimer's or dementia since they died when I was 20." said Olivia.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"So are you keeping your mom where she is or have you decided to move her closer to DC so you can visit her more often?" asked JJ.

"She's now an inpatient at Georgetown University Hospital's psychiatric clinic since feeling DJ kick for the first time made her decide to move closer to us since having her in DC will make things easier for us since we're going to be transitioning to four kids soon." said Spencer.

"Why not a hospital like John Hopkins in Baltimore?" asked Tara.

"My mom actually loved staying at Georgetown University Hospital's psychiatric clinic when she spent two weeks in DC after Piper's birth, and with having her in a hospital in DC rather than Baltimore I can visit her as often as I want on her good days rather than having to travel back and forth to Baltimore to visit her." said Spencer just as a knock sounded on the open door and everyone noticed Chief Cruz standing in the doorway.

Cruz glanced at every agent before noticing Olivia who was holding her husband's hand.

"I didn't know that you were here, Mrs. Reid." said Cruz.

Spencer looked at his section chief.

"Piper, Albert, and Ava needed to see my team in person for the first time in two months, and Olivia wanted to support me when I told everyone about what's going on with my mom." said Spencer.

"Got everything settled for your mom?" asked Cruz.

"She's settling in OK at her new room at Georgetown University Hospital's inpatient psychiatric clinic." said Spencer.

"My sister works as a night nurse there, so what was wrong with your mom's medication?" asked Cruz as he thought about the paperwork he read about Spencer needing off since his mom's medication wasn't helping.

Spencer quickly realized that Cruz hadn't listened to the audio feed from his standoff with Cat.

"My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry Dr. Reid. I lost a grandparent to Alzheimer's." said Cruz.

"It's OK since I accepted my mom's diagnosis, and it helps that when my mom felt DJ kick for the first time she finally accepted my offer of moving out here to be closer to her grandchildren and I." said Spencer.

Olivia groaned when she felt Daniel kick, causing Cruz to look at Olivia.

"The baby kicked?" asked Cruz as he gazed at Olivia's belly.

Olivia nodded as she took ahold of Cruz's hand and placed it on her belly, and Cruz smiled when he felt a kick.

"You definitely got a strong kicker." said Cruz.

"Except my bladder doesn't appreciate it." said Olivia as she glared at her husband, causing a few snickers as Spencer slowly backed away from his wife with his hands up in surrender mode.

"How much longer?" asked Cruz.

"Nine and a half more weeks, and I won't be surprised if Daniel is born early like Piper, Albert, and Ava were." said Olivia.

"Got everything ready?" asked Cruz.

"Nursery got finished before we left for Vegas because I started on it as soon as we found out that we were having another boy." said Spencer.

JJ looked at Olivia.

"Let's just say that your baby shower is being combined with your birthday dinner tonight." said JJ.

Spencer and Olivia groaned in unison, causing more laughter before Olivia looked at her husband.

"Well I am going to go collect your dad and the kids since I take it that debriefing needs to happen." said Olivia as she pecked her husband on the lips.

"Need help with getting the kids into the SUV?" asked Spencer as he rested a hand on Olivia's belly and smiled when he felt his son kick.

"Your dad and I should have everything covered." said Olivia.

"I just want to give the kids a kiss goodbye before you guys leave." said Spencer as he took ahold of his wife's hand before looking at his teammates, "I will be back soon." said Spencer before leaving the room with Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer was watching the elevator door close on his dad, Olivia, and the kids before heading up to the conference room for debriefing.

* * *

Later that evening Spencer was walking out of Rossi's bathroom when Jessica stepped into the hall.

"Mind if I talk to you Spencer?" asked Jessica.

A few minutes later Spencer and Jessica were in a room that Rossi told Jessica that they could talk in, and Jessica immediately pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Aaron told me about your mom's diagnosis, and I always hoped that none of Aaron's teammates would have to go through what I'm currently dealing with." said Jessica.

"Hotch told me about Roy yesterday, and I take it that he told you that my mom decided to transfer to a hospital out here?" asked Spencer.

"He did." said Jessica before both Spencer and Jessica decided to talk about Diana's and Roy's treatment.

* * *

Meanwhile in the living room, JJ looked at Olivia who was sitting down holding Michael.

"Where's Spence?" asked JJ.

Hotch who had Piper on his lap looked at JJ.

"The reason why Jessica decided to join us for tonight's dinner is because she understands what Reid is going through when it comes to having a parent being diagnosed with Alzheimer's since her dad was diagnosed last April so she wanted to talk to him." said Hotch.

Piper looked up at Hotch.

"Jack's grandpa has Alzheimer's too?" asked Piper.

"Yes." said Hotch as he looked at his goddaughter.

Piper jumped off her godfather's lap so she could go play with Jack, Henry, and her siblings allowing a shocked JJ to look at Olivia.

"She knows how to pronounce Alzheimer's correctly?" asked JJ.

"She was finally able to master the word a month ago because Spencer found some children's books on Alzheimer's and dementia to read to the kids so they can understand better, and Spencer and Piper have been reading the books out loud together." said Olivia as she passed Michael to JJ so she could grab her phone and showed Hotch and JJ a video of Spencer and Piper reading one of the child friendly books about Alzheimer's together and they smiled at the parts of Spencer giving Piper a high five for getting a word correct, and when the video was over Olivia groaned when she felt DJ kick causing her to look at Hotch and JJ as she set down her phone, "Excuse me." said Olivia as she eased herself off the couch and rushed towards the bathroom.

"I don't miss those days." said JJ.

* * *

The next day Spencer was eating his lunch at his desk when his personal cellphone vibrated and he saw a text message from John.

ARE YOU COMING TO TONIGHT'S MEETING? A BUNCH OF MEMBERS HAVE BEEN WORRIED ABOUT YOU SINCE YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN UP FOR TWO MONTHS, AND I ENDED UP TELLING THEM THAT YOU HAD TO GO OUT OF TOWN TO DEAL WITH A FAMILY MEDICAL EMERGENCY. ~ JOHN

Spencer typed a reply.

I'M PLANNING ON COMING TONIGHT SINCE I PROMISED MY WIFE THAT I WOULD. ~ SR

Spencer quickly deleted the conversation before he focused on finishing his lunch.

* * *

Later that evening Spencer was standing in front of agents and police officers at Beltway Clean Cops, and after he saw his sponsor nod at him he took a deep breath before speaking.

"My name is Spencer." said Spencer.

"Hello Spencer." said officers and agents who haven't met Spencer yet.

"I used to have a problem with Dilaudid, and I have been sober for over eight years." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "The reason why I haven't shown up for over two months was because I had to go to my hometown with my dad, wife, and kids since my mom who has been institutionalized since I was 18 ended up getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia. When it came to finding out that my mom will eventually forget me, my wife insisted that I find a meeting that specialized in law enforcement to attend in my hometown so I was able to keep the cravings at bay by attending meetings for law enforcement while attending a support group for family members that are affected by Alzheimer's and dementia."

Spencer smiled a bit before continuing.

"I'm glad that my three year old daughter and two year old fraternal twins were with me because their smiles and laughter helped me remember that I have way too much to lose if I wanted to relapse." said Spencer.

A few parents in the group smiled and nodded since their kids were reasons why they stayed clean.

"Despite my mom's recent diagnosis, she finally agreed to be transferred to a hospital out here since my wife is currently nine weeks away from giving birth to my second son." said Spencer as he spoke for another minute before sitting down next to John.

20 minutes later Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when John came over to Spencer and whispered.

"How are you doing since having to go undercover two nights ago?" asked John.

"I'm doing OK, and I decided on not going to the execution since I have more important things to focus on." said Spencer.

"With what's going on in your life right now, I agree that you shouldn't go." said John.

Spencer looked at his watch.

"I have to get going soon because Livy and I are heading to Williamsburg tomorrow since this overnight trip is my birthday present to Olivia." said Spencer.

"Sounds like fun." said John.

"It's our last overnight trip since Livy has only nine more weeks until DJ is born, and my aunt and uncle are going to help my dad with the kids since they're in town until after Mass on Sunday." said Spencer.

"Everything all set for DJ?" asked John.

"I finished the nursery before leaving for Vegas, and my dad, Livy, and I are in the process of washing all the clothes that we were given during Livy's birthday dinner last night." said Spencer just as a few members came over to him to tell him that they understood what it's like to deal with a parent getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was joining Olivia in bed, and Olivia woke up and looked at her husband.

"You came home a little bit later than planned." said Olivia.

"I know, but a few members came over to me to tell me that they understand what I'm going through when it comes to having a parent diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia so I ended up talking to them about treatment plans for Alzheimer's and dementia and support groups that are in the area." said Spencer as he set his glasses on the nightstand before turning the lamp off.

Olivia eased herself so she could rest her head on her favorite spot.

"Then I'm glad that you stayed a bit later since it isn't a bad idea to connect with people who understand what you're going through." said Olivia.

"Let's get some sleep since we're leaving for Williamsburg tomorrow morning." said Spencer as he closed his eyes, causing Olivia to follow suit.

* * *

The next evening Spencer was giving Olivia a massage in their room at the historic bed and breakfast that they were staying in.


	13. Drive

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 12._

 _I hope you guys enjoy a brief return of a past character since the appearance of this character will be helpful for Spencer, and I know that Spencer has to think about the possibility of eventually leaving the BAU because he's not planning on putting his mom into any experimental treatments since she requested him not to go into any trouble at all because she just wants to focus on spending time with her family before her Alzheimer's progresses and his kids getting older since Piper's currently five months away from turning four and the twins are four and a half months away from turning three._

* * *

Spencer was sitting next to his mom on the bench while Nurse Cassie sat on the other side of Diana, and Spencer looked at his mom who was beaming a the sight of her oldest granddaughter doing unassisted back handsprings on the trampoline.

"What do you think of Piper's gymnastics skills?" asked Spencer.

"I have to say that gymnastics is an appropriate sport for Piper since she's talented for a three year old." said Diana as she watched her oldest granddaughter give her coach a high five.

"Piper's coach believes that she could actually end up in the Olympics if she continues gymnastics as a teenager, but if she wants to quit gymnastics in a couple of years to try something else I will be OK with her decision." said Spencer as he watched Piper be lifted up onto the high beam and started to walk across unassisted.

"With how she's able to walk across the balance beam unassisted, she definitely has much better balance skills than you did." said Diana as she took ahold of Spencer's hand and showed him the scar, "Do you remember how you got this scar?"

"Uncle Gordon told me countless of times while telling my teammates since they were always curious about that scar, but having to spend a couple of months on crutches over five years ago has improved my balance." said Spencer.

"Plus that crutch walking did help you put on some much needed weight, but sometimes I think that you're too skinny for my liking." said Diana.

Spencer lightly shook his head just as Piper approached them.

"Did you see me grandma?" asked Piper.

"I sure did Piper, and you were amazing." said Diana as she hugged her oldest granddaughter before Nurse Cassie looked at Piper.

"My 10 year old niece is into gymnastics too, Piper, and with her residing in DC I will have to make sure that you get to meet her." said Cassie as she smiled gently at the three and a half year old girl.

"Cool." grinned Piper before looking at her daddy who was helping her put on her shoes, "Can we go get ice cream before grandma has to go back to the hospital?"

"Ice cream will be wonderful Piper, but we should see if your mommy, grandpa, Albert, and Ava wants to join us." said Diana.

"OK." sighed Piper.

Spencer quickly pulled out his phone, and after a quick phone call with Olivia, Spencer looked at his mom, Piper, and Cassie.

"They will be meeting us at Dairy Queen in 20 minutes." said Spencer.

Cassie looked at Piper.

"Excited about your baby brother being born in about nine weeks?" asked Cassie.

"I am." said Piper.

* * *

20 minutes later Piper was running to her mommy at Dairy Queen telling her how gymnastics went while Spencer and William took care of ordering ice cream before Spencer sat down by his mom, wife, kids, and Nurse Campbell.

A few minutes after eating ice cream, Spencer looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"You guys know that I was able to take the day off to spend the day with you?" asked Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava nodded.

"Well tomorrow if I have to go on a case I want you three to be good and helpful around the house for mommy and grandpa, and as soon as Daniel's born I will be home for a month to spend time with you guys and the new baby." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was sitting in the conference room when Hotch and Garcia entered the room.

"Boston P.D.'s requested our help. Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Ok, uh, this case is not for the faint of heart. So if I faint, that's why. Uh, a week ago, the headless body of 20-year-old Lily Chang was discovered in a playground in Roxbury, then two days ago 45-year-old Denise Wagner was discovered in the North End. Her body, sans head, was left on an old couch by the curb." said Garcia.

Spencer quickly thought about the trips to Boston he had when it came to giving guest lectures for Alex at Harvard or at MIT.

"The North End and Roxbury are two distinct neighborhoods in Boston. They're only 5.1 miles apart geographically, but they're worlds apart in terms of racial and socio-economic makeup." said Spencer.

"Did the women live in the neighborhoods where the bodies were found?" asked Morgan.

"No. Lily lived across over in Cambridge, and Denise was from Beacon Hill." said Garcia.

"Well, the unsub must have used a can or other vehicle to transport the bodies." said Tara.

"Not to be indelicate, but any sign of the heads?" asked Rossi.

"No, nothing yet." said Hotch.

"The media must be having a field day." said JJ.

"Oh, you could say that." said Garcia as she showed pictures of news articles.

"Oh, well, not nearly as clever as that infamous "New York Post" headline: "Headless body in topless bar."" said Rossi.

"He dumped the bodies in public, so he obviously wants them found." said Spencer.

"But why? What's the endgame?" asked Tara.

"Maybe he's getting off on shocking whoever finds the bodies." said Morgan.

"Spreading panic and fear." said Hotch.

"Well, he didn't take their handbags, jewelry, or wallets." said JJ.

"No, the only thing missing was their cell phones. Well, that and their, heads." said Garcia.

"All right, so robbery's not a motive, and there's no evidence of sexual assault, either." said Morgan.

"But why these women, and how did the unsub cross paths with them?" asked Rossi.

"That's what he need to find out before he strikes again. Wheels up in 30." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was at his desk contacting Olivia.

"Have a case?" asked Olivia.

"Going to Boston, and I could stay behind with Garcia if I want since you're due in less than nine weeks." said Spencer.

"I will be fine since it's not a long flight to Boston, but are thinking about visiting Alex while you're there?" asked Olivia.

"With how you insisted that we call her while we were in Las Vegas, I know that visiting with her will be good for me since she has been motherly to both of us." said Spencer.

"I did appreciate her comforting me as soon as I arrived in Texas with Penelope and Chief Cruz." said Olivia before allowing Piper, Albert, and Ava to talk to their dad before Spencer had to hang up.

* * *

Spencer was sitting on the edge of the couch when briefing on the jet started.

"Both women were low-risk lifestyle victims, but if there's any connection between them, I'm not seeing it." said Morgan.

"Well, the first victim, Lily Chang, was a chemistry major at MIT. She was last seen tutoring kids in an after school program." said JJ.

"Denise Wagner was a banker, divorced, lived with her teenage son. She disappeared after speaking at an investment seminar." said Tara.

"Cutting off someone's head isn't easy. Why pick that method to kill?" asked Rossi.

"Terrorist groups often use beheadings to send a message or a warning. Historically it's been used for that purpose, starting with the ancient Greeks and Romans. In 11th century England beheading by sword was introduced by William the Conqueror. And of course thousands of people were beheaded during the French Revolution, including Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette." said Spencer.

"Could the be the work of a terrorist cell on US. soil?" asked Tara.

"None have claimed responsibility." said Hotch.

"So what's he doing with the heads?" asked Morgan.

"He could be keeping them as human trophies, or like Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen, he might have partialism and he's using them for his sexual gratification." said Spencer as he grimaced at the end.

"Or they could be giving him a sense of ownership over his victims." said JJ.

"Maybe he's got an exaggerated fear of female rejection and a severed head can't talk back or say no." said Tara.

"Those are all valid theories, but we have to ask ourselves, why is he killing now?" asked Rossi just as Garcia's face popped up onto the monitor.

"Sir, a body of a third headless woman was found in Boston. Her name is Amy Gibb. She was a bartender at the Seaport." said Garcia.

"Where was the body found?" asked Hotch.

"On a bench in Boston Common." said Garcia.

"The Commons is right in the heart of downtown. The unsub couldn't have picked a more public place." said JJ.

"Lily Chang was killed a week ago, Denise Wagner two days ago, and now Amy Gibb." said Spencer as he noticed the pattern.

"Garcia, tell Boston P.D. we're on our way and to preserve the crime scene." said Hotch.

"And, baby girl, search for men in Boston and the tri-state area with criminal histories of sex crimes. Concentrate on those with fetishes involving heads." said Morgan.

"I'm on it, but I feel icky already." said Garcia before signing off.

"All right, when we land, Morgan, you and Reid go to the latest crime scene. Dave, you and JJ find out what you can from the M.E., and Lewis and I will get set up with local authorities." said Hotch.

Tara looked at Spencer.

"Didn't you plan on taking your mom to Piper's gymnastics yesterday?" asked Tara.

"I did, and one of the nurses accompanied my mom, Piper, and I." said Spencer.

"Did your mom have a good time?" asked Tara.

"She enjoyed watching her oldest grandchild do gymnastics while mentioning that Piper has much better balance than I did when I was her age." said Spencer causing some laughter from Hotch, Morgan, JJ, and Rossi since they heard some of the stories about Spencer as a child.

JJ looked at Tara.

"I will tell you one of my most favorite stories of Spencer as a child later when we're in our hotel room." said JJ.

"Are you really going to tell her about my attempt to be a tightrope walker?" asked Spencer.

"That's the one." said JJ.

"Please tell me later." said Tara.

Spencer groaned as his face heated.

* * *

Spencer shook his head at the amount of press that was at the latest crime scene as he and Morgan passed through the press.

"Excuse us. FBI, let us through." said Morgan as he flashed his badge before lifting up the crime scene tape so he and Spencer could get through.

"Hey, is this the work of the Beantown Beheader?" asked a reporter.

"Does the FBI have any leads?" asked another reporter.

"Where are the heads?" asked another reporter.

"No comment." shouted Detective Lawlor before looking at the two agents, "Vultures out in full force today. Detective Connie Lawlor." said Detective Lawlor as she headed to the crime scene with Spencer and Morgan.

"SSA Derek Morgan. This is Dr. Spencer Reid." said Morgan.

"Who found her?" asked Spencer as they reached the crime scene.

"Couple of teenagers. My partner brought them down to the station. Bet they wish they hadn't cut school today. Cutting off somebody's head. Wicked brutal if you ask me." said Detective Lawlor.

"It's also messy. But there's minimal blood here." said Morgan.

"Same as the first two crime scenes." said Detective Lawlor.

"The unsub most likely has a secluded place to do his work before displaying the bodies." said Spencer before crouching down to get a closer look, "Bruising and swelling on both their hands."

"Maybe she tried to fight him off." said Detective Lawlor.

"Well, it doesn't appear she was dragged through the grass, so the unsub obviously has the strength to carry the body." said Morgan.

"Without the head, the body would be a lot lighter." said Detective Lawlor.

"Not necessarily. The average adult human head only weighs approximately 10 pounds." said Spencer as he thought about Daniel being over three pounds at the moment.

"Well, we had a canine unit out searching for hers." said Detective Lawlor.

"Did you find any personal effects?" asked Spencer.

"Like the first two victims, he left the jewelry and her bag, money and credit cards." said Detective Lawlor.

"What about a cell phone?" asked Morgan.

"We didn't find one." said Detective Lawlor.

Spencer looked at Amy's body.

"I think they're burn marks, most likely from taser prongs." said Spencer.

"The others had 'em, too." said Detective Lawlor.

"Well, it's gotta be how he overwhelms his victims. He's getting close enough to make contact." said Morgan.

"Yeah, but how?" asked Detective Lawlor.

Spencer stood up to his full height, grabbed the sheet and covered up Amy's body before the trio walked away from the crime scene.

* * *

Spencer was pinning a map of Boston up onto the clear board when Hotch put Garcia on speakerphone, causing him to listen in as he worked on his geographical profile.

"Go ahead, Garcia." said Hotch.

"Sir, the list of men in Boston with a history of sex crimes is long, disturbingly so. But none of them with a noggin fetish." said Garcia.

"What did GPS tell you about the victims' cell phones?" asked Hotch.

"Uh, Amy's phone last pinged at her front door in Fenway. Lily and Denise's phones each stopped pinging on different streets in South Boston." said Garcia.

"We locals call it Southie." interjected Detective Lawlor.

"Here's something that's the same across the board. All 3 women, minutes before their cell phones died, they were talking on the phone." said Garcia.

"We need to know who those victims spoke to last." said Tara.

"Copy that." said Garcia.

"Amy worked at the Seaport. That's in Southie. So was the school where Lily tutored and the convention center where Denise attended a seminar." said Tara.

"It could be the neighborhood that's important to him." said Hotch.

"You know, Southie's still predominantly working-class Irish-American. However, long-time residents there are struggling to hold onto their homes and traditions in the face of gentrification." said Spencer.

"Fancy word for organic grocery stores, condos, and juice bars." clarified Detective Lawlor as she wondered where the young agent was from.

"Amy took the T at about midnight. The unsub could have followed her home. If Lily and Denise also took the train, maybe that's where he grabbed them." said Tara.

"He used a taser. Too risky in the subway." said Hotch as he thought about how Spencer used to take the subway and train a lot for work.

"Amy couldn't have taken the T at that time. Service was shut down." said Detective Lawlor.

"But Arthur Gibb said he spoke to her there. Garcia?" asked Tara.

"And he did. GPS confirms that Amy was at the station. But Detective Lawlor is correct. Right after Amy arrived, service on that line was disrupted due to a track fire." said Garcia.

"Where did Amy go after that?" asked Hotch.

"I have her moving away from the station, arriving at her house 20 minutes later. That's when the signal dies." said Garcia.

"Maybe she took the bus home?" asked Tara.

"It would have taken her longer than 20 minutes." said Detective Lawlor.

"Garcia, did she call a taxi or car service?" asked Hotch.

"She did. She ordered a car from a ride-share company called Zimmer, but she canceled it minutes later." said Garcia.

"So how did Amy get home?" asked Tara as Garcia hung up.

* * *

JJ taped some photos onto the clear board.

"Amy Gibb's father said she was depressed and a little lost after her mother died, but what he didn't mention is that a month ago she got caught for shoplifting." said JJ as she sat down.

"Research has shown a direct correlation between shoplifting and depression. It's often a reaction to some kind of loss or need to fill a void." said Spencer as Morgan entered the room.

"All right, well, the second victim, Denise Wagner, just had her assets frozen by the SEC due to allegations of insider trading. Anything hinky on the first victim?" asked Morgan as he sat down and opened a file.

"Lily Chang's transcripts show that she was on academic probation from MIT and close to flunking out." said Spencer.

"Well, I take back what I said about not seeing a connection between the victims. All 3 were involved in unethical situations they probably weren't proud of." said Morgan just as Garcia's face appeared on the laptop.

"Hello, G-men and G-woman." said Garcia causing Spencer to join Morgan and JJ.

"Hey, what up, baby girl?" asked Morgan.

"Ok, I have been doing research on super-sharp possible head-chopping weaponry." said Garcia.

"What'd you find?" asked JJ.

Garcia sighed.

"There are so many ways to slice and dice. Axes, machetes, knives, swords. Do you know there's a sword from Asia called the Katana? It can slice a person in half. Who would need that?" asked Garcia.

"Could be what the unsub's using." said JJ.

Spencer immediately looked at the clear board.

"Well, in the last 6 months, in Boston, there have been 20 swords sold, both real and replicas, mostly to buyers who just wanted to add them to their private collections." said Garcia as Spencer grabbed a file.

"Well, who else bought them?" asked Morgan.

"Uh, people like moi who go to renaissance fairs and civil war re-enactments and pirate festivals. Don't judge, matey." said Garcia as she saw Morgan's smile.

"I'm not, but we're gonna need to talk to everyone, so send us the information." said Morgan.

"Done and done and done and done." said Garcia before signing off.

At that moment Spencer looked at Morgan and JJ.

"You know, the unsub's method of killing has certainly evolved since the first kill, but I don't think he's using any of the weapons that Garcia found." said Spencer.

"What about the Katana? That can sever a neck with precision." said JJ as she thought about how good it was to have Spencer back even though he will be going away again within the next nine weeks for happier reasons.

"It would give him the efficiency and accuracy we've seen, but..." said Spencer as he thought about what he mentioned on the plane.

"What? What are you thinking?" asked Morgan.

"Displaying the bodies in public seems to be what's important to the unsub. He wants to make an example out of his victims, which is why I think he's using a guillotine." said Spencer.

"You're serious." said Morgan.

"Guillotines were once considered instruments of justice. Executions were public events. Crowds would come and literally bring picnic baskets. Parents would bring their kids. Now, he can't kill in today's town square, so he's doing the next best thing. He's dumping the bodies for the public to find." said Spencer as he thought about Piper, Albert, Ava, and his unborn son while thinking about his nephews Jack, Henry, and Michael.

"Ok, guillotines aren't exactly something you see being sold on Amazon every day." said JJ.

"No, but it would be so easy to make one. All you need is wood, rope, pulleys, and sheet metal from the local hardware store." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"Now I can see why your mind can scare Garcia and Rossi, based on knowing stuff like this." said Morgan.

Spencer smirked.

"I've been thinking about building a guillotine in the future as a way to warn boys about what would happen to them if they hurt Piper and Ava." said Spencer.

Morgan smirked.

"If you ever have to use the guillotine on the boys who hurt Piper and Ava, please let me know so I can be there." said Morgan.

"I want to be there too." said Hotch as he stepped into the room.

Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Are you joking?" asked Spencer.

"Any boys who hurt my goddaughter or Ava in the future are dead." said Hotch before telling Spencer, JJ, and Tara that it was time for them to head to the hotel and get some sleep.

* * *

A pajama clad Spencer opened his laptop and smiled when he saw Olivia's face.

"Now there's the smile that I'm hoping to see." said Olivia.

"How are you feeling?" asked Spencer.

"I'm so anxious for Daniel to be born since he's been messing with my bladder constantly." said Olivia.

"Only about eight and a half more weeks to go." said Spencer.

"I know, and how is Boston?" asked Olivia.

"Crazy when it comes to being hounded by the press today." said Spencer.

"I've seen some of the news articles, and I can't believe that the unsub your trying to find would leave a body at a playground." said Olivia.

"I know, and this unsub gave me an idea about building a guillotine in the future to scare Piper's and Ava's future boyfriends." said Spencer.

Olivia shook her head.

"JJ sent me a text earlier about asking you not to show Henry to build a guillotine." said Olivia.

Spencer scowled, causing Olivia to burst out laughter as tears fell down her face.

"Damn hormones." said Olivia before yawning.

"We both need to get some sleep, and I know that it's hard that this is our first time not sharing a bed in over two months." said Spencer as he thought about how hard it was not being able to share a bed with Olivia every night after he returned to work until he was fully recovered from getting shot in the neck.

"I'm going to be OK Spencer since your team needed you back on cases with them, and we will be sharing a bed every night as soon as Daniel's born." said Olivia.

"I love you." said Spencer.

"Love you too." said Olivia before signing off.

As soon as Spencer placed his laptop in his messenger bag, Hotch exited the bathroom.

"How's Olivia?" asked Hotch.

"She's doing OK despite Daniel's constant kicking, and when it comes to this being my first night away from Olivia in two months I realize that I miss getting to sleep with my wife every night like I did for two months." said Spencer.

"You're only traveling with us until Daniel's born, and then you will be away for a month again." said Hotch.

"I know, but I know that I will eventually need to rethink my career with the FBI when my mom's Alzheimer's progresses since she would need to come first instead of this job." said Spencer.

"I know, and I will support your decision to leave the BAU when you're ready since Piper, Albert, and Ava are getting older and will need their father around more." said Hotch.

Spencer gazed at his unit chief.

"With how you turned down that section chief offer over two years ago, are you thinking about accepting that promotion or retiring from the FBI soon since Jack's now 10 years old?" asked Spencer.

"I've thought about it, and Jack wants me to continue to do what I love since he considers us super heroes, but he promised me that he would tell me when he wants me to come home every night." said Hotch.

Spencer smiled, causing Hotch to think about Olivia telling him that she missed seeing her husband smile and hearing his laughter for awhile after Diana's diagnosis.

"Piper and Ava consider me their knight while Albert considers me a super hero since my dad, Jack, Henry, and I have been introducing him to comic books." said Spencer before yawning.

"We should definitely get some sleep Spencer." said Hotch.

Spencer removed his glasses and placed them on the night stand, and a few minutes later both men were asleep in their hotel room.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was sitting between Hotch and Rossi at the conference room table.

"Like Amy Gibb, the first two victims had called for ride-share cars and then canceled." said Hotch.

"To me, this whole ride-share thing's not much different than hitchhiking, except you gotta pay." said Detective Lawlor.

"I get the appeal. It's quick and easy. You just have to enter your location via smartphone." said Tara.

"Right. And then some random car pulls up and you hop in. That sounds safe." said Detective Lawlor.

"Well, riders are sent the driver's name, photo, license plate number. They know who's picking them up." said JJ.

"Maybe the victims didn't want to wait for their ride-share cars to arrive and hailed a taxi instead. And if the cabbie had a jammer, that would explain why the victims' phone signals died." said Morgan.

"He could blitz attack them in the cab and then disable their phones." said Spencer.

"Except Amy was at her front door when her cell signal died." said Hotch.

"Taxi drivers don't usually escort passengers to their door." said Rossi.

"Maybe this one did for Amy." said Morgan.

"Walking passengers to their door feels more like something a ride-share driver would do in hopes of getting a positive review." said JJ.

"Let's go find out." said Tara.

As soon as Morgan and Tara left the room and Detective Lawlor headed to her office, Spencer's phone vibrated and he saw a text message from Olivia.

FARM BOY, CAN YOU PLEASE PICK ME UP SOME BOSTON CREAM PIE BEFORE YOU LEAVE BOSTON? DJ AND I ARE BOTH CRAVING IT. ~ OR

Spencer lightly chuckled at Olivia's "The Princess Bride" reference causing him to smirk as he carefully typed his reply.

AS YOU WISH BUTTERCUP. ~ SR

"What's so funny Spence?" asked JJ.

"Two nights ago, Livy and I watched "The Princess Bride", and she texted me to let me know that she's craving Boston cream pie while calling me Farm Boy and I ended up saying "As you wish Buttercup"." said Spencer, causing Rossi and JJ to lightly chuckle while Hotch showed a hint of a smile.

"Your wife is something else when it comes to her wicked sense of humor." said Rossi.

"I know, and I appreciate her game of quoting references from various movies and TV shows that we watched together to get me to smile and laugh since finding out about my mom having Alzheimer's and dementia." said Spencer.

"Are you going to do something special for Valentine's Day despite Olivia being 35 weeks pregnant by then?" asked JJ.

"We're just going to have a family movie night with the kids since Olivia considered the trip to Williamsburg for her birthday as an early Valentine's Day present, but I'm already planning on doing something special for her a couple of months after Daniel's born." said Spencer.

"If you need help with childcare, you know to let us know." said JJ.

"I know." said Spencer.

* * *

As soon as Morgan and Tara returned, Spencer and Morgan were outside giving the profile to the press.

"The public is advised to travel in pairs or groups and to use public transportation when possible. If using a taxi, please call the company to order one in lieu of hailing one in the street." said Spencer.

"And if you're a ride-share customer, make sure the car that picks you up is the one that you reserved and the driver matches the photo that was sent to you." said Morgan.

* * *

Hotch entered the room to see Spencer sitting on a table, finishing a phone call.

"All right, thank you so much. Bye." said Spencer before hanging up.

"Did you find out?" asked Hotch.

"Lily Chang's classmate said that they they were trying to buy an answer key to an upcoming chemistry midterm." said Spencer.

"Denise Wagner was on the phone with a Canadian banker who was helping her set up an offshore account in, uh, Vanuatu?" asked Rossi.

"The Republic of Vanuatu. It's a tax haven known for its banking secrecy." said Spencer.

"It appears she'd been siphoning off money from her clients for years." said Rossi.

"What about Amy Gibb?" asked Hotch.

"The last person to talk to Amy Gibb was her best friend. She said that Amy invited her over to drink a bottle of champagne that she stole from work." said Spencer.

"And Anthony Simmons?" asked Hotch.

"He last talked to a Curtis Price, but he hasn't gotten back to us yet." said Rossi as he looked at his note pad.

"What if the unsub knew about what he considered to be his victims' moral transgressions and he was offended by them?" asked Hotch.

"But how would he know that?" asked Spencer.

"Well, you know how people spill their secrets to bartenders, hairdressers, the stranger sitting next to them on a plane." said Rossi.

"When our personal space is limited, it can trigger a false sense of intimacy." said Spencer.

"Well, the backseat of a taxicab is often like a confessional. I imagine it's like that with ride-share cars, too." said Rossi as he looked at the member who attended Mass weekly when he can.

"The victims could be confessing their wrongdoings to the unsub while he's driving." said Spencer.

"And they could be doing it unknowingly. He could be eavesdropping, and depending on what he hears, they go from being a fare to being a victim." said Hotch.

* * *

Spencer stood a couple of feet away from the crime scene photos and geographical profile with Hotch, Rossi, and Tara as they brainstormed.

"Simmons' body has yet to turn up, so he may still be alive, but we're running out of time." said Rossi.

"The disposal sites are all over the map, but the victims were all abducted in the same 20-block area in Southie." said Spencer.

"Yeah, but Garcia's checked and there are no current ride-share drivers or rejected applicants living within that 20-block radius." said Tara.

"If the unsub's offended by immorality, it might have something to do with a church or religious institution in the neighborhood." said Spencer, knowing how he, his dad, Olivia, and the kids still went to Mass every Sunday while they were in Las Vegas to continue part of their routine for Ava's benefit.

"It could be a former priest or member of the clergy." said Tara.

"Religion and bruised knuckles. Anyone else besides me getting an image of nuns hitting students on the back of their hand with a ruler?" asked Rossi.

"It could be a teacher who still believes in corporal punishment." said Tara as Hotch called Garcia.

"Garcia, I need a list of all public, private, and parochial schools in South Boston." said Hotch.

"There are 8 public, 4 private, and one parochial school." said Garcia.

"And check for scandals at those schools and go back 30 years." said Hotch.

"Scandals, got it. Garcia out." said Garcia before hanging up.

A couple of minutes later Garcia got back to them.

"Sir, I think I found something. A principal at a private school in Southie was arrested last month for sexually assaulting a minor. I just sent you the story." said Garcia, causing Morgan and JJ to grab their tablets, causing Spencer to look at JJ's.

""Principal Brendan Burke of Aldren Academy was charged with lewd acts and sexually abusing a 10-year-old female student. Police believe there may be more underage victims dating back as early as the 1980s."" read Morgan.

"Aldren is right in the middle of the unsub's hunting grounds." said Spencer.

"Burke had been principal for 35 years and was known in the community as a moral crusader." said Hotch.

"He's a staunch supporter of prayer in school, corporal punishment, longer prison terms to deter crime." said JJ.

"Oh, dear." said Garcia.

"What is it, mama?" asked Morgan.

"Well, according to this, which I'm sending you right now, Principal Burke committed suicide 10 days ago." said Garcia.

"That's right when the first victim was found. Burke's death may have been the trigger." said Hotch.

"He left behind a note apologizing for what he called his "Sins of the flesh and moral weakness."" said Morgan.

"If the unsub went to Aldren academy, it's likely he was influenced by Burke's moral crusader rhetoric." said Spencer.

"He could be trying to emulate him." said JJ.

"Garcia, cross-check the school's enrollment records with ride-share drivers in Boston." said Hotch.

Garcia quickly did some typing.

"Uh...Nothing." said Garcia.

"All right. Check for drivers who've been suspended or had their accounts deactivated." said Hotch.

"Bingo. Two names. Stephen Liastro and James O'Neill. They both went to Aldren from kindergarten all the way through high school, starting in the early eighties. Stephen moved to California 3 years ago. James still lives in Southie. He was a Zimmer driver for 6 months. He was fired recently due to a boatload of negative reviews, including an allegation that he threatened a passenger with a hammer. But charges weren't filed." said Garcia.

"That's why he didn't show up on the database of drivers with criminal histories." said Morgan.

"Let's put out an APB for James O'Neill. We need the home address, Garcia." said Hotch.

"Already sent." said Garcia.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was packing up the room his team just as a familiar voice filled the room.

"I hope that you guys were going to catch up with me before you head back home." said Alex.

Spencer looked at Alex who was making a beeline towards him.

"Glad you could take some time to meet with us before we head back home." said Spencer as he felt Alex's arms wrap around him.

"I'm so sorry about your mom, Spencer." said Alex.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

"How is she doing?" asked Alex.

"She's settling in OK at Georgetown University Hospital's inpatient psychiatric clinic, and she was well enough to come to Piper's gymnastics on Monday." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and showed Alex a picture of his, mom, Piper who was in her leotard, and him.

"Diana must have enjoyed that outing." said Alex.

"She did, and she promised Albert and Ava that she would have special outings with each twin when I have off." said Spencer.

"Spoken like a true grandma who treats her grandchildren equally." said Alex.

"I know." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at everyone.

"Ready to go out for dinner before heading home?" asked Hotch.

Everyone nodded as Alex introduced herself to Tara.

"I'm Alex Blake, and Spencer has told me about you." said Alex.

"Nice to meet you." said Tara.

"I hope that everyone has been treating you well." said Alex.

"They have." said Tara.

* * *

30 minutes later Spencer was seated between Hotch and Alex at a restaurant that Alex recommended for them, and after ordering their food Alex looked over at Spencer.

"Even though I talk to Olivia on a daily basis, are you nervous about Daniel's birth?" asked Alex.

"Not at all since I've been there for Piper's and then the twins births, but the only thing I'm nervous about is the possible threats that Olivia might give me in the delivery room since she didn't give me any when she was in labor with Piper while giving me threats when she was in labor with the twins." said Spencer before looking at Alex, "Are you planning on coming down to DC as soon as DJ's born?"

"James and I are already planning on coming down since Olivia has became a daughter to me when you introduced her to me." said Alex.

"Piper, Albert, and Ava will be excited to see you since Piper's been wanting you to come watch her at gymnastics." said Spencer.

"Tell her that when I come visit I will make sure to take her myself." said Alex.

"I promise." said Spencer.

A few minutes later their food arrived, and JJ ended up telling Alex about Michael, Rossi ended up telling her about Joy and Kai, Hotch updated her on Jack, and Morgan updated her on Savannah.


	14. The Bond Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

 _A/N: Shout out to Chermayne and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 13._

 _Olivia's now 32 weeks pregnant, and I decided to revisit the topic of the events that Spencer and Olivia had to deal with Piper going through Kawasaki Disease in the second story of this universe Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Two since the three year anniversary of Piper going through Kawasaki Disease has passed so that means that Piper needed her yearly heart check that had to get rescheduled due to the Reids being on the way home from Las Vegas when Piper was supposed to have her CT scan._

 _With the scene on the jet revealing that it was night and daylight when they arrived in Atlanta, I decided that Spencer would be woken up a couple of hours before his alarm went off._

* * *

Dr. Carter entered the room only to see Piper on her daddy's lap and Olivia already laying on the bed.

"Where are Albert and Ava?" asked Dr. Carter.

"They're with their grandpa because when we leave here, Piper has an appointment at Children's National since we ended up having to reschedule her CT scan due to driving back from Vegas." said Olivia.

"That time of the year again?" asked Dr. Carter as she thought back to the phone call she received from Spencer about Piper showing signs of Kawasaki Disease before starting her exam on Olivia.

"Yes, and I have the entire day off because of having a daddy/daughter date with Piper this afternoon." said Spencer.

Dr. Carter looked at Piper as she did her exam while thinking back to delivering Piper over three and a half years ago.

"Excited about your baby brother being born in eight weeks?" asked Dr. Carter.

"Yes." said Piper as there was a knock on the door and a technician with ultrasound equipment entered the room.

"Ready Olivia?" asked Dr. Carter.

"Yes." said Olivia as she lifted up her shirt a bit before feeling warm gel being put onto her belly as she held her husband's hand.

A few minutes later Piper's eyes went wide in awe as she saw her baby brother on the screen, causing Spencer and Olivia to release a few tears as they watched Piper keep an eye on her baby brother.

* * *

45 minutes later Spencer and Olivia entered Children's National with Piper on her daddy's hip, and Piper looked at her daddy.

"Why are we here again?" asked Piper.

"Over three years ago you ended up really sick with an illness that can damage your heart and ended up being hospitalized here for a couple of days, and once a year you're required to see a specialist known as a pediatric cardiologist to make sure that your heart is strong and healthy." said Spencer as he rested a hand on Piper's heart.

"OK." said Piper as her daddy continued to carry her towards the pediatric cardiology unit.

"You will be having an CT scan of your heart done, and you will need to stay very still." said Olivia.

"OK." said Piper.

"And as soon as we're done here we will go get you a Happy Meal." said Olivia as she thought about Piper's reaction about having to skip breakfast due to having a CT scan.

* * *

30 minutes later Spencer, Olivia, and a hospital gown clad Piper were sitting in the room where they were waiting for Piper's heart rate drop to a desired level, and a nurse who was watching the heart monitor looked at Piper.

"You want to hear something very cool?" asked Nurse Abigail as she winked at Spencer and Olivia and grabbed a stethoscope.

"What?" asked Piper as she noticed her mommy and daddy smiling at each other.

Nurse Abigail put the headset of the stethoscope over Piper's ears before pressing the stethoscope onto Olivia's growing belly, and a few seconds later Piper's eyes went wide when she was listening to her baby brother's heart beat.

"DJ's heartbeat." said Piper as she looked at her mommy and daddy.

"You are correct Goober, and we got to hear it earlier when we were at mommy's 32 week check up." said Spencer.

Nurse Abigail looked at the monitor and looked over at Piper.

"You will be getting a scan of your heart done soon, but first I need to put a needle in you so a dye can be injected to help your doctor get good pictures of your heart." said Nurse Abigail as she grabbed the materials that she needed.

"OK." said Piper.

A minute later Piper was sitting on her daddy's lap, facing him, with her head on his chest.

"It will be over before you know it Piper." said Spencer as he gently rubbed Piper's back while nurse Abigail worked on finding a vein before looking at Spencer and nodded at him that she's about to insert the IV.

Nurse Abigail quickly cleaned the area with an alcohol wipe before inserting the IV into Piper's vein, and as soon as Piper felt the needle poke into her skin, she instantly started crying causing Spencer's shirt to be soaked with her tears.

"It's OK Piper, and as soon as we're done here mommy and I have a surprise for you." said Spencer as he continued to rub his oldest daughter's back.

"I don't like needles." cried Piper.

Spencer adjusted Piper on his lap so he could look into his daughter's eyes.

"I don't like needles myself, but having needle pokes can help save lives." said Spencer as he wiped his daughter's tears.

"Just like you do by putting bad men and women into really long time outs." said Piper.

Nurse Abigail looked at the heart monitor and looked at Piper.

"It's time for your heart to get scanned." said Nurse Abigail before looking at Spencer, "You planning on being in the room again?"

"I promised her that I would be with her the entire time, and I know the drill about wearing a lead apron." said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer was helping Piper get situated on the bed before helping nurse Abigail cover Piper up with a warming blanket and Piper lightly giggled at the lead apron that her daddy was putting on.

"You look silly daddy." said Piper.

"I need to wear this apron to protect myself from harmful radiation." said Spencer.

Nurse Abigail looked at Piper.

"You need to stay still the entire time." said Nurse Abigail.

"I know." said Piper.

Spencer looked at his daughter as he pointed at a chair.

"I will be sitting over there in that chair, and when you're told to hold your breath or release your breath please follow the instructions." said Spencer.

"OK." said Piper.

"It's time Spencer." said nurse Abigail.

Spencer gave Piper a kiss on the forehead before sitting down in the designated chair as nurse Abigail left the room so the test could start, and as soon as the CT scan started Spencer helped coach his daughter at the times that she was required to hold her breath or breathe for the technicians.

* * *

When the CT scan was over, Spencer carried Piper into the room where Olivia was waiting for them and smiled softly at his wife when he noticed that Olivia was crying the entire time due to pregnancy hormones.

"Mommy." said Piper.

"Hi sweet pea." said Olivia.

"Just lay Piper on that bed, and you can join her if you want Spencer." said nurse Abigail.

Spencer gently laid Piper down onto the bed before kicking off his own shoes and laying on the bed next to Piper who instantly curled into his chest.

Nurse Abigail looked at Piper.

"You need to rest for a little bit before you can leave with your mommy and daddy." said Nurse Abigail as she turned on the TV and smiled when she saw that "Tom and Jerry" was on, "Why don't you watch some cartoons for a bit."

"OK." sighed Piper.

Nurse Abigail sat down in a chair by Olivia.

"So what do you like to do for fun?" asked Nurse Abigail.

"Gymnastics." said Piper.

"How good are you?" asked Nurse Abigail.

Olivia grabbed her tablet from her purse and found the most recent video that Spencer made from the previous Monday.

"Here." said Olivia.

Nurse Abigail watched the video, and when it was over she beamed at Piper.

"You are a very gifted gymnast, and you remind me of Gabby Douglas." said Nurse Abigail.

"I see her on TV." said Piper.

"She's going to be in the Olympics this summer, and do you know where the Summer Olympics is this year?" asked Nurse Abigail.

Piper used her eidetic memory as she thought about her gymnastics coach telling her about the summer Olympics.

"Rio like the movie Rio." said Piper.

"Very good." said Nurse Abigail.

* * *

Two hours at BAU Headquarters the BAU team sans Spencer were eating lunch when Tara noticed a big gift bag by Garcia's feet.

"What's that?" asked Tara.

"Even though Reid took the day off due to Olivia having her 32 week ultrasound, he and Olivia will be coming here with Piper." said Garcia.

"Why only Piper?" asked Tara.

"Piper had to spend a couple of hours at Children's National today." said Hotch.

"Why?" asked Tara.

"Had Spence ever told you about Piper going through Kawasaki Disease over three years ago?" asked JJ.

"He did." said Tara.

"Piper had a CT scan to look for coronary aneurisms this morning, and that's why he ended up taking the day off since he's having one on one time with Piper this afternoon." said Hotch.

Garcia's phone vibrated and she grinned when she saw a text message from Spencer.

HEADING UP TO THE SIXTH FLOOR NOW, AND PIPER'S EXCITED TO SEE YOU GUYS. DON'T BE SURPRISED IF SHE'S A BIT SUBDUED SINCE OLIVIA AND I HAD TO GIVE HER MEDICATION TO HELP CALM HER DOWN PRIOR TO THE CT SCAN. ~ SR

"They're going to be up here in a couple of minutes." said Garcia.

A few minutes later Spencer was carrying Piper into the round table room with Olivia walking beside him.

"Hey guys." said Spencer.

"If you know what's good for you, you better give me that cutie pie right now." ordered Garcia.

Spencer quickly set Piper down and helped her remove her jacket before lifting her and passed her to Garcia who instantly hugged the three and a half year old girl.

"I heard that you had to have a test done today." said Garcia as Spencer and Olivia took seats on the conference room's couch.

"Pictures of my heart were taken, and I had a needle in me." said Piper as she pointed at the bandage causing Garcia to instantly kiss Piper's owie before grabbing a gift bag, "I have some presents for you Piper." said Garcia.

Piper smiled as she opened up her gifts, and after looking at them she hugged Garcia.

"Thank you." said Piper.

"You're welcome cutie pie." said Garcia before passing Piper to Hotch who was motioning for her to pass him his goddaughter.

"Hi uncle Aaron." said Piper.

"Your daddy told me that you are having a date with him this afternoon and you get to pick out the activity. So what are you going to do with him?" asked Hotch as he watched Olivia take her husband's hand and squeezed it, telling him that they already knew what Piper wanted to do.

"Daddy and I go see grandma." said Piper as she tried to work her brown eyes on her daddy.

Spencer looked at Piper.

"We can go visit her, but just remember that there might be a chance that we might not be able to see her if she's having a bad day." said Spencer.

"OK." sighed Piper.

JJ looked at Olivia.

"How was your doctor appointment?" asked JJ.

"Went fine, and I'm so anxious for Daniel to be born." said Olivia as she moved a piece of hair that didn't fit into her ponytail back behind her ear.

"Only eight more weeks Livy." said Spencer as he gently massaged her lower back.

Piper looked at her daddy.

"Can we please go see grandma now?" asked Piper.

"Yes." said Spencer as he stood up before helping his wife off the couch before walking over to Hotch who was starting to help Piper put on her jacket.

"Can I have a piggy back ride daddy?" asked Piper.

"Sure." said Spencer.

Hotch helped Piper get situated on her daddy's back, and after Piper was given kisses goodbye from her aunts and uncles she was leaving the BAU with her mommy and daddy just as Cruz exited an elevator.

"I thought that you had the day off Dr. Reid?" asked Cruz as he looked at the tired looking three year old girl on her daddy's back while thinking back to Spencer telling him that Piper is a Kawasaki disease survivor and that she is required to have her heart checked once a year telling him that Piper recently had a CT scan done.

"With how well behaved Piper was at the hospital, we decided that she deserved to visit her aunts and uncles here." said Spencer.

"Did you have fun Piper?" asked Cruz.

"I got to sit on uncle Aaron's lap, and aunt Penny gave me some new toys." said Piper as she pointed at the gift bag that her mommy was carrying.

"Where are you going now?" asked Cruz.

"I go see grandma if she is having a good day." said Piper.

"Have fun Piper." said Cruz before looking at Spencer, "Have a good rest of your day off."

"Thanks, and I hope that taking today off wasn't that much of a problem since I just got back from two months of family medical leave while I will be taking a month's worth of paternity leave as soon as Daniel's born." said Spencer.

"With what's going on with your life right now, the FBI is willing to give you time off when it comes to your family." said Cruz before patting Spencer on the shoulder and walked away so he could call his sister who was on shift.

Olivia looked at her husband as she pressed the down button for the elevator.

"Your section chief is right Spencer." said Olivia as the elevator door opened allowing Spencer, Olivia, and Piper to enter.

* * *

Spencer approached Dr. Hauser with Piper on his hip.

"Thank you for calling ahead about visiting." said Dr. Hauser.

"Is my mom having a good day today?" asked Spencer.

"As of right now she's currently is, and she's in her room." said Dr. Hauser as she smiled at Piper, "Hello Piper."

"Hi." said Piper shyly before resting her head on her daddy's shoulder and closing her eyes.

"She looks tired." said Dr. Hauser.

Spencer looked at the clock.

"Piper had a CT coronary angiogram done nearly five hours ago at Children's National, and with being old enough that she doesn't need to be asleep she was given Valium while having to take medication to lower her heart rate for the scan." said Spencer.

"Why did Piper have a CT coronary angiogram done?" asked Dr. Hauser.

"When Piper was nearly seven months old she ended up in the hospital for Kawasaki disease. She received the necessary treatment on time, but she's required to continue to see a pediatric cardiologist regularly to monitor her heart." said Spencer.

"So with the day that Piper had, you decided that some time with her grandma would do her some good?" asked Dr. Hauser.

"Piper insisted on coming here because I told her that we would have a daddy/daughter date this afternoon if she was well behaved at Children's National." said Spencer before looking at Dr. Hauser, "Despite the daily updates that I have been given, how has my mom been doing with making new friends here?"

"When your mom is having a good day she loves showing off pictures of her grandchildren, so she has been making friends with a few other grandparents." said Dr. Hauser.

"That's good." said Spencer.

"Well I will let you two go see your mom." said Dr. Hauser as she smiled at the father and daughter duo before walking away.

Five minutes later Spencer was knocking on his mother's open door, and Diana smiled when she saw her son and oldest grandchild.

"Why aren't you at work Spencer?" asked Diana as she got up from her chair and made her way over to Spencer.

"Olivia had her 32 week check up this morning before Olivia and I had to spend a couple of hours with Piper at Children's National since Piper had a CT scan this morning since its time of the year to see her pediatric cardiologist since she survived Kawasaki disease three years ago." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her oldest granddaughter and noticed that Piper was asleep.

"Lay her down on my bed and we can catch up until Piper wakes up." insisted Diana.

"I was already planning on tucking her into your bed." said Spencer as he sat Piper on the bed and gently removed her winter jacket before tucking her into his mother's bed and set Piper's glasses onto the night stand before joining his mom by her window.

"How did she take it at the hospital this morning?" asked Diana quietly as she watched her oldest granddaughter sleep.

"She was crying when the IV was inserted." said Spencer.

"Poor thing." said Diana.

"Olivia was crying too, due to pregnancy hormones." said Spencer.

"Watching your child get hurt or having to go through a medical test is never easy on a parent." said Diana.

"I know, but I learned that Olivia and I can't protect Piper, Albert, Ava, and eventually Daniel from everything." said Spencer.

"Speaking of my daughter in law and the rest of my grandchildren, where are they?" asked Diana.

"They're at home with dad since the outing that dad took Albert and Ava on tired them out, and Daniel was kicking Olivia a lot last night so she's taking a nap right now." said Spencer.

"Speaking of Daniel, who are you wanting him to look more like?" asked Diana.

"With Piper being a perfect combination of Olivia and I, Albert being a clone of me, and Ava being a clone of Olivia, I am hoping that Daniel's a perfect combination of Olivia and I since I'm praying that Daniel inherits Olivia's blue eyes." said Spencer.

"Hopefully he inherits your natural curls." said Diana as she ran a hand through her son's hair.

"Livy's hoping that he inherits my curls." said Spencer.

"Speaking of Olivia, I'm glad that you have her in your life because when you first told me about her, I realized that she was eventually going to be my daughter in law someday." said Diana as she looked at the pictures of her son and daughter in law that she displayed in her room.

"My teammates are glad that I took the chance with Olivia, and Livy and I are planning on finally having that formal wedding on the day of our five year wedding anniversary this year since a bunch of teammates are still a bit upset at Livy and I for sneaking off to Las Vegas to do a simple registration of marriage." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "I don't regret doing that simple registration of marriage because if we did a long engagement we wouldn't have had Piper when we did."

"I agree Spencer, and I'm glad that I moved out here so I can see my grandchildren more often." said Diana.

"Daddy?" asked Piper as she sat up in her grandma's bed and rubbed her eyes.

Spencer quickly got up and helped Piper put on her glasses.

"Need to go to the bathroom?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Piper.

A few minutes later Spencer was setting Piper onto her grandma's lap, and Diana smiled down at her oldest grandchild as she hugged Piper.

"Did you have a good nap?" asked Diana.

"Yes." said Piper before pointing at her arm, "I had a needle poke today."

Diana looked at the bruise that already formed, causing her to kiss Piper's arm.

"Your daddy told me about the rough morning you had, but I bet having him be there with you helped you feel better." said Diana.

"I like it when daddy's home and I like it that he's a knight who saves people." said Piper.

"Sometimes your daddy's job is sad, but having you and your siblings helps him be happy." said Diana just as there was a knock on the door, revealing a nurse that Spencer had yet to meet.

"Are you Diana's son, Dr. Spencer Reid?" asked the nurse.

"Yes." said Spencer.

"I'm Maria Rodriguez. I'm usually working the night shift, but I'm covering for another nurse who's on vacation." said Maria.

Spencer looked at the nurse and noticed some familiar features that his section chief had.

"You look kind of familiar since you look a lot like one of my bosses." said Spencer.

"You mean Mateo Cruz?" asked Maria.

"That's my section chief, and he mentioned that his sister works in this ward." said Spencer.

"I'm his sister, and he called me earlier to let me know that you were visiting your mom today since he knew that I wanted to meet you since I've read your published work in psychology journals." said Maria before taking in the sight of the little girl on Diana's lap causing her to smile at Diana, "I hoped that I got to meet your grandchildren at some point."

"Well this is my oldest granddaughter, Piper Ann Reid." said Diana.

"I'm nurse Maria Rodriguez." said Maria as she held out her hand for Piper to shake, "Your grandma has told me about you and showed me all the pictures she had of you."

"Hi." said Piper shyly.

Maria looked at Spencer.

"Where are your wife and two other kids?" asked Maria.

"They're at home since I ended up taking today off, and I promised Piper that I would have one on one time with her this afternoon." said Spencer.

Maria looked at Diana.

"It's time for your medication so you will need to say goodbye to your son and granddaughter." said Maria.

Diana looked at Piper.

"Goodbye Piper, and you continue being a good girl for your mommy, daddy, and grandpa." said Diana.

"I love you, grandma." said Piper as she hugged her grandma tightly.

"I love you too, Piper." said Diana as she hugged her granddaughter.

Maria looked at Spencer.

"How about I help your daughter put on her jacket while you say goodbye to your mom." said Maria as she grabbed Piper's jacket.

"OK." said Spencer as he lifted Piper off her grandma's lap, causing her to make her way to Maria.

"If you get a case, please stay safe Spencer." said Diana.

"I will mom." said Spencer as he hugged his mom.

A few minutes later he was leaving the hospital with Piper, and Piper who was on her daddy's hip turned her head towards him.

"Can we have pizza for dinner?" asked Piper.

"We sure can since mommy and I decided that it's pizza night for us." said Spencer.

"With lots of mushrooms?" asked Piper.

Spencer grinned at the mention of his favorite pizza topping knowing that Piper inherited her love of mushrooms from him.

"I think that can be arranged." said Spencer.

"Can we watch Dr. Who?" asked Piper.

"We can." said Spencer as he thought about how Piper, Albert, and Ava are all enjoying Dr. Who.

* * *

At 6 AM the next morning, Spencer was sitting at the conference room table for briefing.

"The Atlanta field office is asking for our help in a string of murders they've connected on the HSK database." started Garcia.

"Last night the body of a John Doe was found in a truck stop rest room in Chattanooga, Tennessee." said Hotch.

"And the day before, the body of 61-year-old Claire Westchester was discovered in a Birmingham, Alabama, truck stop rest room. They had both been... It's on your tablets." said Garcia.

"They'd been stabbed multiples times, and they'd both been posed postmortem." said Hotch.

"Well, he demeans his victims, that's for sure. They're bound to a urinal with rope." said JJ as she looked at a picture on her tablet.

"He left one hell of a calling card." said Rossi.

"Well, the lack of blood suggests that they were killed somewhere else and then disposed of here." said Morgan.

"The stab wounds are both shallow and deep. It could be some sort of systematic torture." said Spencer before standing up.

"Well, there are no obvious signs of sexual assault." said Tara as Spencer grabbed the remote.

"Well, he's sadistic. The stabbing could be what's getting him off." said JJ as Spencer clicked a few buttons on the remote so he could see the map.

"But he doesn't stop there. He removed their left ears." said Rossi.

"He could be keeping them as a trophy." said Tara.

Spencer who finally found what he was looking for looked at his teammates.

"The disposal sites are 147.6 miles apart. He probably thought by crossing state lines he'd prevent the authorities from connecting the two murders." said Spencer.

"Well, I hate to state the obvious, but we're most likely looking for a truck driver." said Morgan.

"Atlanta is one of the country's top long-haul hubs. It's one of the few cities in America serviced by 3 major interstates." said Spencer.

"There are hundreds of open cases on the HSK database, and finding this unsub is going to be like finding a needle in a haystack." said Tara.

"With the ability to move around the nation, there's nothing to suggest he'll stop anytime soon. Wheels up in 30." said Hotch.

As he headed to his desk, Spencer pulled out his phone and called Olivia.

"I was just about to call you since I saw your note, so where are you going?" asked Olivia.

"Going to Atlanta, Georgia." said Spencer nervously.

There was silence for a few seconds before Spencer heard a door closed.

"Are you OK with going to Atlanta when the nine year anniversary of your abduction and torture is next week?" asked Olivia with concern lacing her voice.

Spencer softly smiled at the concerned tone that Olivia was speaking to him to.

"I'm OK with having to go, and hopefully I will be back by Friday for Piper's follow up with Dr. Lopez." said Spencer.

"If you're not back by then, you can always find time to conference in." said Olivia.

"I know." said Spencer.

Olivia groaned through the phone.

"I have to go since Daniel's messing with my bladder, so I love you and please stay safe." said Olivia.

"I love you too Olivia, and I promise to stay safe." said Spencer before hanging up.

* * *

Spencer was sitting on the ledge by Hotch as he looked at his teammates.

"In a 2009 report, it was suspected that serial killers operating as long-haul truck drivers are responsible for close to 500 murders over the last 3 decades." said Spencer.

"And that number hasn't gone down." said Hotch.

"So what else do we know about truckers?" asked Rossi.

"Well, most see long-hauling as a lifestyle, not a job. Living a life of solitude on the open road." said Tara.

"Well, oftentimes that comes with a tremendous amount of stress, having to meet scheduled deadlines for months at a time." said Morgan.

"And with the right kind of pressure, the unsub could have snapped." said Hotch.

"Victimology speaks to that. Both victims were random, John Doe appeared to be homeless, and Claire Westchester was the complete opposite." said JJ.

"Yeah, looks like she lived in College Park for the last 20 years." said Tara.

"She'd been happily married to her high school sweetheart and taught at the local elementary school." said Rossi.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why go from low- to high-risk victims?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah, these types of unsubs typically target victims like runaways, transients, and prostitutes." said Spencer.

"So apart from each of them being in their early 60s, there's no connection between the two?" asked Tara.

"Maybe age is the connection. He could be choosing his victims because they're easier targets." said Spencer.

"Or they could be surrogates." said Hotch.

"That's also maybe why he cuts off the ears. He's felt ignored all his life." said Spencer.

"The victims represent some type of authority figure. That would explain why Claire Westchester was targeted. She was a schoolteacher." said Morgan.

"What about a parental figure? It's possible he chose and older male and older female victim for a reason." said JJ.

"All right, when we land, Morgan, you and Reid go to the M.E. Dave and JJ, go on to Chattanooga, and Lewis and I will get set up at the precinct." said Hotch.

* * *

Dr. Ivan Smith approached Spencer and Morgan as he passed a clipboard to Spencer and Morgan.

"Finally got an I.D. on John Doe. Frank Myers of Atlanta. We were able to I.D. him through his dental records." said Dr. Smith.

"Looks like he's been in and out of homeless shelters for the past couple of years." said Spencer.

"For someone on the streets, I'd say he has some pretty expensive dental work. And they're still trying to locate his next of kin." said Dr. Smith.

"Have you ruled a C.O.D.?" asked Morgan.

"Exsanguination from penetrating wounds. In both cases, the killer severed major arteries." said Dr. Smith.

"Were you able to determine when the ear was removed?" asked Spencer.

"Postmortem. I also found this." said Dr. Smith as he grabbed a small bag, "Burlap fibers embedded in both victims' wound tracks." said Dr. Smith as Morgan took the bag.

"He stabs them through a bag. That's unusual behavior for a sadist." said Spencer.

"They get off on watching their victims as they inflict pain." said Morgan.

"Well, it appears the killer tried numerous times to stab but hit the bone, before he got it right." said Dr. Smith as he pointed at the stab wounds.

"Well, this might not be overkill like we initially thought. This could be exactly the opposite." said Spencer as he looked at the other body. "Yeah, look, there are placement errors and hesitation marks. Which tells me he's improvising." said Spencer as he looked at Morgan.

"He's struggling through the kill as if it's his first time." said Morgan.

"Uh. What if it is? We could be dealing with a killer who's not yet comfortable killing." said Spencer.

"That doesn't make any sense. Based on the disposal sites, we profiled this guy had experience." said Morgan.

"Yet the actual murders tell a far different story." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Morgan were leaving the ME's office, and Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You OK with being in Atlanta especially since next week is the ninth anniversary of the Hankel case?" asked Morgan.

"I might have to wait and see until tonight, and when I talked to Olivia before getting on the jet she had the same concern." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer sat on the edge of the table as he looked at the crime scene photos on the clear board.

"I don't get it. How could this guy be organized and disorganized at the same time?" asked Rossi.

"These are two completely split M.O.s. We have to consider the unsub might have a partner." said Morgan.

"That means he's a silent partner. Both disposal sites only showed evidence of one person." said JJ.

"Chances are if there was a partner, he'd somehow want to participate in the kill." said Rossi.

"It's a weird dichotomy, typically seen when an unsub is in their early stages of becoming a killer." said Spencer.

"Early stages." said Agent Waters causing Spencer to look at him, "As in you think the murderer could be a kid."

Spencer stood up.

"No, I think he's lived with the fantasy for quite some time, but it's only now that he's finally acting on it." said Spencer.

"Only things don't go as planned, so he struggles through the murder trying to match the actual kill to his long-gestating fantasy." said JJ.

"And it's only a matter of time before his hesitation in the actual murder catches up with his staging fantasy." said Morgan.

* * *

 _A/N: Part two of The Bond will be up within the next couple of days._


	15. The Bond Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 14._

 _I'm sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter, but I promise that the next one will be longer._

* * *

Spencer stood by Hotch as Hotch started to give the profile.

"We believe the unsub we're looking for is what we call a rectification killer. He's targeting people that he holds responsible for a major trauma in his childhood." started Hotch.

"These feelings have been festering in his mind for decades, as evidenced by the degree of rage." said Morgan.

"Because of the complexity of these crimes and their victimology, we believe this person to be a white male in his 30s or 40s." said Tara.

"The victims actually interacted with the unsub as a child when they worked in the family court system." said JJ.

"It's possible he was removed from his family for his own safety but was too young at the time to know the severity of the situation." said Rossi.

"Now that he's an adult, he thinks it's his mission so seek revenge on those in the legal system he believes broke up his family." said Spencer.

"It's possible the triggering event was the separation or death of one or both of his parents." said Hotch.

"Check for rulings involving a child being placed into the foster care system or put up for adoption." said Rossi.

"This guy's exhibiting an irresistible compulsion by posing his victims at truck stop rest rooms, despite the escalating risks." said Morgan.

"And this indicates that his childhood trauma may have some direct link to these type of locations." said Tara.

"Focus on cases that involve a parent or guardian connected to the trucking industry or who have spent long periods of time traveling on the open road." said JJ.

"We believe that locating this case will be the key to finding him. Thank you." finished Hotch.

A minute later Spencer walked away and pulled out his phone to call Olivia.

"Hi daddy." answered Piper.

"Where's mommy?" asked Spencer.

"She had to go potty." said Piper.

"OK." said Spencer.

"When are you coming home?" asked Piper.

"As soon as the bad guy is put into a really long time out." said Spencer.

"We see grandma when you come home?" asked Piper.

Spencer sighed.

"We'll see Piper." said Spencer.

"Here's mommy." said Piper as she passed her mommy's phone to her mommy.

"Hey Spencer." said Olivia.

"Hi Livy." said Spencer.

"How is it in Atlanta?" asked Olivia.

"Warmer than it is in DC right now, but I miss you and the kids." said Spencer.

Olivia looked around and smiled.

"As soon as you help your team catch this son of a bitch, you will be home." said Olivia.

"Hormonal right now?" asked Spencer.

"I ended up crying when I saw Einstein kissing Ava, and I ended up snapping at your dad due to lower back pain, and he wasn't upset about me snapping at him since he knew that it was my pregnancy hormones." said Olivia.

"As soon as I get home, I will give you a back massage Livy." said Spencer.

"Well, I will let you get back to work so you can get home faster." said Olivia.

"I promise to stay safe, and I love you." said Spencer.

"You better stay safe or you will be sleeping on the couch, and I love you too." said Olivia before hanging up.

* * *

Spencer entered Randy's house with Rossi and Agent Smith.

"Randy Jacobs, this is the FBI!" shouted Rossi before all three men cleared rooms.

"Clear!" shouted Spencer.

"Clear!" shouted Agent Smith.

Rossi looked around the kitchen.

"Definitely signs of a struggle." said Rossi.

"Randy can no longer contain his rage. He's unraveling." said Spencer.

"By the looks of it, he may already have his next victim." said Rossi as he pulled out his phone to update the others.

* * *

Spencer followed JJ and Tara onto the jet with Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi trailing behind him as he listened to Tara's and JJ's conversation.

"Flora signed a confession. She admitted to making Randy participate in his father's murder." said Tara. as Spencer took one of the single seats across from a small table.

"All this time he seemed to have such a normal, well-adjusted life." said JJ as Morgan chose to sit across from him while Hotch and Rossi sat across the aisle from Spencer and Morgan.

"Yeah, but there was always that void inside of him." said Tara.

"Even after he found out who his mother was, he still wanted to build a relationship." said JJ.

"Yeah. And that's how she was able to play on his emotions. And he wanted retribution for his mother, no matter the cost." said Tara.

"Sometimes we let the need to connect and bond with our families trump any kind of judgment." said JJ as Morgan noticed Spencer's frown.

"And that's more powerful than anyone can understand." said Tara.

A few minutes later Morgan was looking at Spencer who was looking at a few pictures on his phone.

"You OK kid?" asked Morgan.

"Just thinking about the next visit that I'm having with my mom because I promised Piper that I would take her, Albert, and Ava to visit mom tomorrow." said Spencer.

"You do know that the bond you have with your mom is not like Randy's and Flora's." said Morgan.

"I know, but sometimes its hard to deal with cases like this because I can't believe that Flora manipulated her son into killing the people who were the reason why Randy was taken away, causing Randy to ruin the future he could have had." said Spencer.

"At least your mom instantly approved Olivia when you introduced her to your mom." said Morgan.

"I was only dating Olivia for two weeks when I introduced her to my mom, and Livy was the one to convince me to reconnect with my dad." said Spencer.

"And it's a good thing that Olivia convinced you to reconnect with your father because you two need each other more when it comes to your mom." said Morgan as he thought about the brief hug that he saw William give Spencer in the conference room two weeks ago, "Speaking of your mom, how is she doing with adjusting in her new home?"

"She has had a few rough days when it came to settling in, but she has told me that she's happy to be about 15 minutes away from dad, Olivia, the kids, and me since she's able to see her grandchildren and I two or three times a week rather than every couple of months." said Spencer.

"Now how are you doing kid?" asked Morgan causing Hotch and Rossi to turn their heads to the two younger men so they could hear what Spencer was going to say.

"When I found out that my mom has Alzheimer's and dementia, I was angry since she was already sick way before I was born." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "When I told the kids what was going on with their grandma, Piper reacted the most causing Olivia and I to tell the kids that despite their grandma eventually going to forget them, Olivia, my dad, and I that they should remember that their grandma will always love them and they should think about the happy memories that they already had with their grandma while cherishing the moments that they have with their grandma when they visit her." said Spencer.

"Even though I'm not a father yet, I would have told my kids the same thing if I was in your footsteps." said Morgan.

"Piper's, Albert's, and Ava's smiles and laughter gives me a reason to smile and laugh, and the upcoming birth of DJ reminds me that there will always be good times to outweigh the bad." said Spencer.

"Speaking of Piper, are you nervous about the results of her CT scan?" asked Hotch.

"I am, and this case helped distract me for awhile even though her follow up appointment isn't until Friday." said Spencer before his phone vibrating and he saw a text from Olivia.

PIPER'S WANTING TO PLAY CHESS WITH YOU WHEN YOU GET HOME, AND I TOLD HER THAT YOU NEED TO CATCH UP ON SLEEP. ~ OR

"What is it?" asked Morgan.

"It was Olivia telling me that Piper wants to play chess when I get home." said Spencer before looking at Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi, "Speaking of chess, tomorrow I should make sure to visit the Jewish cemetery."

Hotch, Morgan, and Rossi quickly connected the dots.

"It's a year tomorrow." said Rossi.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"Why not we all have dinner at my mansion tomorrow evening and watch Charlie Chaplin?" asked Rossi as he thought about how everyone sans Kate joined him at his mansion for dinner.

"Olivia, the kids, and I are in since it will be a good distraction prior to Piper's doctor appointment on Friday." said Spencer.

"Savannah and I are in." said Morgan.

"Jack and I are in." said Hotch.

Rossi got up and made his way to JJ and Tara.

"I'm having dinner at my mansion tomorrow and there will be Charlie Chaplin to honor an old friend." said Rossi.

"Will, Henry, Michael, and I are in." said JJ.

"I'll come." said Tara.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Don't be surprised if Jack asks to learn more magic tricks since he was upset about having to go two months without learning some new tricks." said Hotch.

"Henry's wanting to learn more too, Spence." said JJ.

Spencer smiled.

* * *

The next day Spencer got out of the car of the Jewish cemetery where Gideon was buried, and when he got closer to Gideon's grave he noticed a figure who turned around.

"I thought that you would be showing up here if you weren't on a case." said Elle as she made her way to Spencer and hugged him.

"Got back yesterday evening, and I ended up asking Hotch if I could leave work early so I could stop by here before everyone gathers at Rossi's for dinner." said Spencer.

"Garcia called me a week ago and told me about your mom, and I thought that I should be in town for the one year anniversary so you could talk to someone outside your team or family." said Elle.

"I appreciate you coming here Elle, and with you being in town you will be invited for dinner at Rossi's." said Spencer.

Elle picked up her suit case.

"I have a few gifts for Daniel Jason since Penelope's been keeping me updated." said Elle.

"How did you get here?" asked Spencer.

"I took a cab." said Elle as she looped arms with Spencer who was picking up her suit case.

A few minutes later Elle was in the front passenger seat of Spencer's Toyota Prius.

"I miss your classic car, but having kids would make you get a new car." said Elle as she looked into the back seat where three booster seats were installed.

* * *

An hour and a half later Spencer, Olivia, the kids, and Elle entered Rossi's mansion and Garcia squealed when she saw Elle.

"I thought that you weren't coming to visit until after DJ was born?" asked Garcia as she pulled Elle into a hug.

"When I looked at the calendar, I knew that I needed to be in town for a couple of days." said Elle as she started to help Albert get out of his winter jacket before scooping up the two and a half year old boy.

Piper looked at Elle.

"Watch me do back handsprings." said Piper as she ran to an open area, and 30 seconds later everyone was clapping when Piper did three successful back handsprings without the help of a trampoline.

* * *

Two and a half hours later Spencer, Olivia, Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, Savannah, Tara, Garcia, JJ, Will, Elle, Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, and Ava were sitting on either Rossi's couches, chair, or living room floor laughing as they watched "Charlie Chaplin".

* * *

The next day Spencer and Olivia were sitting in Dr. Lopez's office with Piper on her daddy's lap when Dr. Lopez entered the room.

"You have definitely grown since I saw you a year ago Piper." said Dr. Lopez as she smiled at Piper before looking at Olivia, "I heard that you were pregnant, so how much longer and what's the gender?"

"About seven more weeks and it's a boy." said Olivia.

Dr. Lopez started her check up on Piper, and as soon as she was finished she looked at Piper.

"Did your mommy and daddy explain to me about why you see me on a yearly basis?" asked Dr. Lopez.

"I got really sick when I was a baby and you have to watch my heart." said Piper.

"Yes." said Dr. Lopez before looking at Spencer and Olivia as she grabbed Piper's file, "I have the test results, and there were no coronary aneurisms detected."

Olivia released tears of relief before Dr. Lopez looked at Piper.

"So what do you like to do for fun?" asked Dr. Lopez.

"Gymnastics." said Piper.

Spencer looked at Dr. Lopez.

"Piper's been only doing gymnastics for a year, and with how fast she excelled in gymnastics she's in the advanced group for three and four year olds." said Spencer as he ended up showing Dr. Lopez a video of Piper doing back handsprings unassisted before seeing Piper do an unassisted flip on the bars.

"I see a future Gabby Douglas." said Dr. Lopez.

"Everyone has been telling us that when they see videos that we recorded, and we're already planning on watching the summer Olympics as a family this summer." said Spencer.

Dr. Lopez looked at Spencer and Olivia.

"At least you two already found a fun way to keep Piper fit and active." said Dr. Lopez.

"We know, and gymnastics is helping Piper make friends before she starts school next fall." said Spencer.

Dr. Lopez's pager beeped causing her to look at Spencer, Olivia, and Piper.

"I have to get going and I expect baby pictures sent to me as soon as your son is born, Spencer and Olivia." said Dr. Lopez as she got up and exited the room causing a nurse to come in.

"I think you deserve a sticker, and you should help me pick some out for your little brother and sister." said Nurse Charlotte as she opened a drawer and motioned Piper to come over.

Five minutes later Spencer and Olivia were leaving Children's National with Piper, and while Spencer was driving, Olivia sent a group text letting Spencer's teammates know how Piper's doctor appointment went.

* * *

The next day Piper, Albert, and Ava were sprinting towards their grandma who instantly hugged her grandchildren before hugging her son, daughter in law, and ex-husband.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Diana.

"With it being Saturday I talked to your doctor about you staying with us until after Mass tomorrow." said Spencer.

"Am I able to?" asked Diana.

Dr. Hauser entered the room.

"I've given the all clear since you're doing very well, but you need to listen to your son about taking your medication and resting when you're supposed to." said Dr. Hauser as she handed Spencer a bag that contained his mother's medication.

"So would you like to stay the night until after Mass tomorrow?" asked Spencer.

Diana looked at her ex-husband, son, daughter in law, and grandchildren and she couldn't help but smile at her grandchildren who were all giving her puppy dog eyes while pouting.

"I would love to." said Diana.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once.

"Then I will need help with packing an overnight bag since I am planning on reading to my three beautiful grandchildren." said Diana.

Piper, Albert, and Ava ran to the bookshelf while Spencer helped Olivia pack a bag for his mom.

* * *

Two hours later Diana was sitting by the back patio door smiling as she watched Spencer and Piper teach Albert and Ava how to make snow angels before they heard Piper demand to build Olaf as Olivia brought Diana some hot chocolate.

"When I first met you Olivia, I knew that you would be the one to marry my son and give me four beautiful grandchildren." said Diana as she rested her hands on Olivia's belly and smiled when she felt DJ kick, "You nervous about giving birth in less than two months?"

"I'm excited and nervous, and Spencer mentioned that as soon as I reach 37 weeks he will be staying behind on cases so he won't miss DJ's birth." said Olivia before she burst out laughing at the sight of Piper, Albert, and Ava tackling their daddy onto the ground and tickling him, "When you were diagnosed with Alzheimer's I was worried that I would barely get to see and hear my husband smile and laugh, and I have to say that the kids are doing a good job at making their daddy smile and laugh." said Olivia.

"You brought a lot of joy into my son's voice, and like I've told you before I am glad to consider you my daughter." said Diana.

"I think my parents would have loved you." said Olivia as she hugged her mother in law the best she could.

"I think so too, since they raised an amazing daughter." said Diana just as Spencer entered the house with Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"You four look cold." said Olivia as she eased herself out of her chair so she could help get her children out of their snowsuits.

"It's winter mommy, and snow is cold." said Piper as she rested her cold nose against her mommy's nose, causing Olivia to shriek.

"No hot chocolate for you Missy." teased Olivia before looking at her smirking husband, "I take it that you told her to do that?"

"Yeah." said Spencer.

Olivia poked her sweater clad husband in the chest.

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight mister." said Olivia.

"You're in trouble daddy." said Piper.

"I know, Goober." said Spencer.

"You can sleep with me instead of on the couch." said Piper.

Spencer smirked at his wife.

"I think sleeping with my two little girls will be better than sleeping on the couch." said Spencer.

"Then I will be taking photos tonight that I can send to JJ, Penelope, and Tara." smirked Olivia causing Spencer's face to heat up before she looked at her son, "What do you say about sleeping with me tonight?"

"I sleep with mommy." said Albert sweetly causing Diana to laugh.

* * *

Later that night Spencer was pushing Piper's and Ava's beds together so he could cuddle with his two little girls, and after Spencer, Piper, and Ava were asleep, Olivia was taking a picture of Spencer in bed with Piper and Ava and sending the picture to Garcia, JJ, and Tara.

SPENCER HAVING A SLEEPOVER WITH HIS TWO LITTLE GIRLS WHILE I GET TO HAVE A SLEEPOVER WITH MY BABY BOY WHO WILL NO LONGER BY MY ONLY BABY BOY WHEN DJ IS BORN. ~ OR


	16. Nine Years Since Hankel & Hostage

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 15._

 _Olivia's 33 and 34 weeks pregnant in this chapter so not much longer until DJ makes his first appearance!_

* * *

Spencer woke up to water hitting his face, and as soon as he had his glasses on a concerned Olivia was looking at him.

"Nightmare?" asked Spencer groggily.

"Yes, and I had to wake you up before you woke the kids." said Olivia as she helped her husband put on his glasses.

"Sorry." muttered Spencer as he gotten out of bed and removed his sweat soaked t-shirt before grimacing at the sweat stain he made on their sheets causing, him to start stripping the bed.

"It's OK, Spencer, since we both knew what was bound to happen this week since it's the ninth anniversary of your abduction and torture." said Olivia.

"I guess I will need to take a shower before we go back to bed." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at the clock and saw that it was 1 AM.

"How about a bubble bath and I can join you, but remember that with me being 34 weeks pregnant tomorrow I'm banned from having sex unless I'm overdue." said Olivia.

Spencer quickly grabbed some clean sheets and a clean comforter from their bedroom closet and started remaking the bed while Olivia got the bathtub ready, and as soon as the tub was filled up Spencer helped his wife get in before getting in himself.

"Why don't you tell me about the nightmare." said Olivia.

Spencer started explaining the nightmare, and as soon as the water started getting cold he got out of the tub before helping Olivia get out so they could rinse off together before crawling back into bed.

* * *

The next morning Spencer walked into work tiredly and headed straight to the coffee maker where Hotch and Tara were already talking when Hotch looked at him and noticed the dark circles that went away over time were showing again.

"DJ causing you two trouble with his kicking or nightmares?" asked Hotch.

"Nightmares, and Livy ended up pouring cold water onto my face to wake me up since it would be dangerous for her and DJ if I got combative." said Spencer.

"You have that mandatory appointment with Dr. Merrill today at 11 AM." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer.

"If you need to talk about your nightmare, you know where to find me." said Hotch as he patted Spencer on the shoulder before heading to his office, causing Tara to look at him.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you having mandatory appointment with a bureau psychologist today?" asked Tara.

"Nine years ago today I was abducted and held captive for nearly three days, and the unsub physically and mentally abused me, and I was able to save myself by sending coded messages through live feed. A couple of minutes before my teammates approached me I was digging my own grave and I was able to trick Tobias Hankel into getting his gun and did a kill shot seconds before Hotch and a former teammate approached me." said Spencer.

"So you're dealing with PTSD right now?" asked Tara.

"Yes, and every year around the anniversary Hotch makes sure that I go through a psychological evaluation since I deal with PTSD symptoms since I struggled with severe PTSD for a couple of weeks before I accepted Hotch's offer for help since he didn't want to fail me like he did with Elle Greenway." said Spencer.

"Does Olivia know about your abduction and torture?" asked Tara.

"She knows since I ended up telling her a week after I started dating her, and when it comes to the anniversary she's supportive even though during the fifth and sixth anniversary she was pregnant both times and she still found a way to wake me up from my nightmares." said Spencer.

"I take it that she used water like last night." said Tara.

"She did, and last year during the anniversary I got into a little bit of trouble, causing her to decide to have the kids trap me in bed." said Spencer.

"What did you do?" asked Tara.

"I ended up waking up at 11:30 PM due to a nightmare, and after a half hour of playing chess against myself, Piper who woke up to use the bathroom came into the room, and after talking to her for a few minutes I promised her that I would teach her how to play chess when Olivia came into the room and asked me if I woke up Piper when it was past her bedtime." said Spencer.

Tara laughed.

"I bet she wasn't happy." said Tara.

"She wasn't, but Piper, Albert, and Ava have the ability to help me feel better when I'm feeling down." said Spencer before walking to his desk so he could get started on consults before his appointment.

* * *

The following Wednesday, Spencer was sitting at the round table with his teammates sans Tara who was on a research assignment.

"Last night, this girl, Gina Bryant, flagged down a police car in St. Louis. She was wearing nothing but a dirty nightgown and she was barefoot. And she told them that she had been kidnapped when she was 8." said Garcia before sitting next to Spencer, taking hold of one his his hands and squeezing, it causing the others to give him concerned looks.

"That girl's gotta be 19 or 20 years old." said Morgan.

"18. And they confirmed her identity." said Garcia as she showed a picture of the eight year old girl, "She was a foster kid who disappeared 10 years ago."

"She's been in captivity this whole time?" asked JJ as she exchanged glances with Spencer, since they were both thinking about Piper and Ava.

"Long-term hostage. That's rare. We got another Ariel Castro here?" asked Rossi.

"Funny you should say that. Not funny ha ha, funny weird. She told the police that she was held captive with this girl, Sheila Woods, 15 years old, who disappeared from Nashville 7 years ago. Also she said there was another girl, too, but all she knows about her is that her name is Violet and she was older." said Garcia as she noticed Spencer looking at the pictures of the two young girls.

"I'm assuming you've checked the missing children's database." said Rossi.

"Affirmative. There's no Violet anywhere." said Garcia.

"Did Gina say anything about her captor?" asked Spencer.

"Just that his name is Tom and he was an older white dude." said Garcia.

"And where were they being held?" asked JJ.

Garcia showed a picture.

"This house. Gina took the cops there. They found Sheila. Sheila's at the hospital, very ill with something yet to be determined. Violet nowhere to be found."

"It's probably safe to assume that she's with the unsub." said Hotch.

"Who owns the house?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, that's where it gets even weirder. This woman, Clara Riggins. She's MIA, but her checking account is active, she pays her bills on time, and if my math is correct, she's 108 years old." said Garcia.

"I might be going out on a limb here, but I'm gonna bet she had nothing to do with the kidnapping." said Rossi.

"The real question's where is the unsub and this other girl Violet?" asked Morgan.

"That's what we're gonna find out. Lewis is on a research assignment. Wheels up in 30." said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "With Olivia now being 34 weeks pregnant, are you sure you don't want to stay behind, especially with the nature of this case?"

"If I ended up going home tonight and Olivia finds out that you guys went to St. Louis, she will send me on the next flight." said Spencer, causing a few chuckles before he got serious, "But Olivia promised me as soon as she feels the contractions that aren't Braxton Hicks, she will call me even before her water breaks."

"Go call Olivia." said Hotch.

Spencer quickly pulled out his phone and called Olivia as he headed to his desk while JJ and Morgan took care of contacting their significant others about leaving for a case.

"A case?" asked Olivia as she rested her hands on her 34 week pregnant belly.

"Yeah, and when I get home I really need a sleepover with Piper and Ava since this case deals with young girls." said Spencer.

"More room for me in bed as soon as you get home." teased Olivia,

"Why don't I hear the kids?" asked Spencer.

"Your dad and Ava's OT therapist took them to the grocery store since you promised them that you guys will bake cookies for Valentine's Day this weekend." said Olivia.

"I will bake those cookies with them when I get home." said Spencer before looking at his watch, "I have to get going, and I promise to stay safe."

"Love you." said Olivia.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up.

* * *

"Both Gina and Sheila were grabbed when they were 8." said JJ as she looked at pictures of eight year olds Gina and Sheila.

"And both just blocks away from their homes." said Morgan.

"And made a clean getaway each time. No witnesses." said Rossi.

Spencer who was sitting in between the window and Hotch spoke up.

"There's an excellent chance he stalked them. Clean getaways usually mean they know daily routines and are familiar with the area." said Spencer as he thought about the daily routines that Piper, Albert, and Ava have.

"So this guy's patient and has a plan. Which means he has patterns too." said Morgan.

"This guy's more than just a preferential pedophile. His victims are children, but that's probably more about establishing control. Long-term captivity is what matters to him." said Rossi.

"We've seen profiles like this before. There's always a sexual assault component to their M.O.s." said JJ just as Garcia's face popped up onto the laptop.

"Hello, all. I just sent you the 4-1-1 on the statements from police reports. Turns out the neighbors haven't seen Clara Riggins in 20 years. Most of them didn't even know that she existed. But they all know who this Tom guy is. According to this one lady, Tom told her that he was Clara's grandson. But I triple-checked. Clara doesn't have any relatives anywhere." said Garcia.

"Did we get a description from any of the neighbors?" asked Hotch.

"Affirmative. And they also gave me the make and model of Tom's blue van. It's a pretty common vehicle. I got a long list of registered owners. So far the 3 Toms and Thomases on that list all check out." said Garcia.

"All right, stay on it." said Hotch.

"You know I will, sir." said Garcia.

Hotch took a brief glance at Spencer and noticed the fire in his eyes, making him decide that Spencer should be with him at the hospital along with JJ since he knew that JJ and Spencer were thinking about Piper and Ava just like him.

"When we land, Dave, you and Morgan go to the house. JJ, you and Reid are with me at the hospital. We need to talk to the girls and find out everything they remember." said Hotch.

Spencer's phone vibrated, and he couldn't help but smile when he saw a video of Piper teaching Ava how to do a cartwheel.

"What is it?" asked Hotch.

"Your goddaughter is teaching her little sister how to do a cartwheel." said Spencer as he ended up showing Hotch the video before his phone got passed around.

"Those two girls are the reason why I'm having you at the hospital with me." said Hotch.

* * *

Spencer stood outside of Shiela's room with Hotch and JJ as Dr. Givens approached them.

"Agents, thank you for waiting." said Dr. Givens.

"Of course. How is she?" asked Hotch as Spencer crossed his arms.

"Looks like she had complications from a miscarriage. Her infection turned septic. We had to perform an emergency hysterectomy. And she has several old scars on her back. If I didn't know better, I'd say they were from a whip." said Dr. Givens sadly as he saw a flash of anger in Spencer's eyes, making him realize that the young man standing in front of him most likely has a daughter.

"Any idea when she might wake up?" asked JJ.

"There's no way to tell." said Dr. Givens.

"What about Gina Bryant?" asked Spencer softly.

"She's doing much better, all things considered. Malnourished, dehydrated, a couple nasty cuts and bruises. But she should be ok. Physically, anyway." said Dr. Givens.

"Do you think she's able to answer a few questions?" asked Hotch.

"She was pretty agitated when she came in, so we gave her a mild sedative. But she has the same scars on her back, and she's got a bunch of old injuries that didn't heal properly. Broken ribs, tibia, a couple of fingers. I hope you catch the guy who did this." said Dr. Givens.

Spencer looked at Hotch.

"Please keep me away from the unsub since I really want to shoot that man right between the eyes." said Spencer with quiet anger lacing in his voice.

"Get in line, Spence." said JJ.

Hotch looked at his two youngest agents.

"Why don't you two go sit with Gina." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer stood by the window taking in the view of St. Louis as JJ sat in a nearby chair while they waited for Gina to wake up, and as soon as JJ saw Gina waking up she alerted Spencer who turned around while JJ stood up, causing the two young agents to make their way closer to Gina.

"Hi, Gina. My name's Jennifer. This here is my friend Spencer." said JJ softly/

"Hi." said Spencer softly as he waved with his left hand causing Gina to notice his gold wedding band before he put his hand back into his pocket.

"We're with the FBI. Do you know what that is?" asked JJ.

"The police?" asked Gina as she noticed the softness in Spencer's and JJ's eyes, making her realize that she could trust them.

"Yeah. Something like that." said JJ.

"I already talked to the police." said Gina.

"Well, we're-we're a little bit different. Do you mind if we ask you a few questions?" asked JJ.

"Sure." said Gina.

"Can you tell me about the day you were kidnapped?" asked JJ softly.

"I went to the park. I forgot my sweatshirt. But I didn't want to go home." said Gina.

"Why not?" asked JJ.

"That lady Trisha was mean." said Gina.

"Your foster mother, Trisha? Trisha Gilmore?" asked Spencer as he used the voice that he would use on Piper, Albert, and Ava when they were upset.

"Her kids, too. They said I wasn't worth the money they made off me." said Gina.

"So you went to the playground to get away from them." said JJ.

"I went all kinds of places. Mostly there." said Gina.

"What happened that day?" asked Spencer gently.

"I saw Violet." said Gina.

"Violet. The girl you were held hostage with?" asked JJ.

"She was waiting for her dad to pick her up. And that's when he came." said Gina.

"Who, Tom?" asked JJ.

"He had this little puppy. He asked me if I wanted to give him treats. He said he went crazy for treats. They were in his car. But it wasn't a car. It was a van. And he opened the door and pushed me in and he hit me. I tasted my blood, and my eyes were watery. He said I'd better listen or he was gonna hit me again. We drove... We drove for a long time. But I never saw the puppy again, though. Never saw it. He was so little. I don't know where he went, though. I'm sorry." sobbed Gina as JJ started comforting her.

"It's ok. It's ok." soothed JJ.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." sobbed Gina.

"Shh..." said JJ as she gently hugged Gina as she sobbed, and after Gina stopped sobbing JJ looked at her.

"What do you say about escaping this room for a little bit?" asked JJ,

"I would like that." said Gina.

JJ grabbed a wheelchair, and Spencer looked at Gina.

"With you not being able to walk right now, would you be OK with me lifting you up and setting you into your wheelchair?" asked Spencer.

"I don't mind." said Gina.

A minute later Spencer was lifting Gina up into a bridal carry before setting the 18 year old girl in the wheelchair while JJ made sure to hook the bag of Gina's fluids to the rack and cover Gina with a blanket.

"Who would you like to push you?" asked JJ,

Gina looked at Spencer.

"You, Spencer." said Gina.

A minute later Spencer was pushing Gina's wheelchair into the hallway and JJ walked along side them.

"Gina, do you have any idea where Tom might be right now?" asked JJ.

"Maybe his disappearing place." answered Gina.

"His disappearing place?" asked Spencer.

"He'd always leave. I liked it when he was gone, even though he never left much food." said Gina.

"Do you know where the disappearing place is?" asked JJ.

"I didn't get to go. He only took Violet and Sheila once. They were more special." said Gina.

JJ stopped walking and sat down in a chair, causing Spencer to stop pushing the wheelchair.

"Why were they more special?" asked JJ as Spencer sat down next to her.

"Because they were good. They never fought." said Gina.

"But you did." said JJ.

"I hated to call him daddy, and I wouldn't say my name." said Gina.

"What do you mean, you wouldn't say your name?" asked JJ as Spencer thought about how much he loves it when his kids calls him daddy.

"Rose. He tried to call me that." said Gina.

"Did Sheila or Violet every talk about the disappearing place?" asked Spencer.

"It's a secret. It would make Tom mad if they did." said Gina.

"Well, what about Tom? Did he ever talk about it?" asked JJ.

"One time. When he was nice. He brought pizza." said Gina.

"Do you remember what he said?" asked Spencer as he thought about how Piper would ask to have pizza for dinner.

"That maybe one day I could go. Then... Then he wanted to go behind the curtain. Sometimes I didn't fight as much after Sheila got there." said Gina.

"Why not?" asked JJ.

"Because we had to take care of her. So I tried to make him happy. But I made sure she remembered her real name no matter what." said Gina.

"What about Violet? Do you know her real name?" asked Spencer.

"Mm... Just-just Violet. Sometimes he called her Vi." said Gina.

"Did Tom ever mention anyone named Clara?" asked JJ.

"She liked flowers. That's where we got our names. He called Sheila "Daisy"." said Gina.

"Did you ever see Clara?" asked JJ.

"No. But sometimes I was good and he let me go outside at nighttime, and we planted flowers. He said they were for Clara." said Gina.

Spencer and JJ exchanged glances, knowing that Clara must be buried in the yard causing them to contact Morgan and Rossi before they took Gina back to her room and Spencer helped Gina get into bed so JJ could get her situated while he dealt with the composite sketch.

* * *

Spencer entered Gina's hospital room as he watched JJ show Gina how to use the TV.

"So this one right here will turn the volume up and down. And then this one if you want to change the channel, if you want to watch something different." said JJ.

"JJ." whispered Spencer.

"Here you go. I'll be right back." said JJ before leaving the room and met Spencer in the hallway.

Spencer opened up the file and started whispering.

"Composite sketch of the unsub. Garcia's running facial recognition against her list of blue van owners." said Spencer as he looked at Gina while thinking about Piper and Ava, "How's she doing?"

"It's a lot. She has no money, no family, a second-grade education, not to mention a lifetime of PTSD to deal with." whispered JJ just as medical staff ran past.

"Excuse me." said a nurse as he ran past Spencer and JJ.

"Clear the door, clear the door, please." said the staff member as he rushed past Hotch and Sheila's mom just as a voice sounded over the PA.

"103. Code Blue." said a male voice over the PA.

"That can't be good." said JJ.

"Dr. Givens, room 103. Code blue." said a voice over the intercom.

"Crash cart coming through." shouted a nurse.

"Given the amount of hospital staff and the level of urgency, it looks to me like Sheila might be coding." said Spencer.

"What's coding?" asked Gina.

Spencer and JJ turned to see Gina standing by them.

"Gina, you need to get back in bed." said JJ.

"Is that Sheila's room?" asked Gina as she tried to make her way past Spencer and JJ, causing JJ to grab her.

"No, no, no." said JJ as she stopped Gina, "Ok, you know what? Let them work. You don't want to get in their way." said JJ as they watched the commotion down the hallway.

"No! You don't stop working on her! You keep working on her! No, no, no." cried Eileen.

"Is she ok?" asked Gina.

"Sheila! Sheila! What's wrong?! What's wrong with her?! I have to help her! I have to help her! Please! Please! Please.." shouted Eileen and JJ hugged a sobbing Gina as they heard flat lining.

A few minutes after Gina calmed down, JJ looked at Spencer.

"Would you mind helping get Gina back into bed?" asked JJ.

"Sure." said Spencer as he crouched down, scooped Gina up into a bridal carry and looked into her eyes, "I'm just going to help you get back into bed."

"OK." said Gina before looking at Spencer, "You're strong for someone as skinny as you." said Gina, causing JJ to chuckle.

"I ended up hurting my knee over six years ago causing me to hobble around on crutches for a couple of months, and I currently have three kids under the age of four to carry around, and my wife's 34 and a half weeks pregnant with my second son." said Spencer as he carried Gina to her hospital bed and gently laid her down.

"You seem like a better daddy than Tom." said Gina.

"He sure is, and his oldest child is my goddaughter while Spencer's the godfather of my two sons." said JJ as she tucked Gina back in.

* * *

Spencer walked with Hotch, JJ, and Dr. Givens as Dr. Givens briefed them on Violet.

"She's refusing treatment. She won't even tell us her last name." said Dr. Givens.

"Well, that's because she might not even remember it herself." said Spencer.

"Violet probably isn't even her real name. It's most likely the name he gave her." said JJ.

"We do need to talk to her." said Hotch.

"Well, you can try. You might have better luck than I did." said Dr. Givens.

"It may take some time to get through to her." said JJ.

Hotch looked at JJ and Spencer.

"All right, see what you can find out. I'm gonna go question Thompson." said Hotch before walking away.

Spencer looked at JJ and Dr. Givens.

"She's probably childlike and unsocialized, exactly like Gina. And if she was held captive the longest, she almost certainly fell victim to intense trauma bonding." said Spencer as he looked at Violet before opening the door, allowing JJ to step in before he did.

"Hi. Violet? My name's Jennifer." said JJ.

"And I'm Spencer." said Spencer as he stepped into the room and closed the door.

"Uh, can we go now? Me and my daddy, we gotta go." said Violet.

JJ looked at Spencer as she thought about how Violet would look like an adult Piper with straight hair.

"When you say "daddy", do you mean Tom?" asked JJ.

"I don't call him that." said Violet.

"You know, that's- that's not actually his real name. His name is Michael Clark Thompson. Tom's just a name he made up." said JJ.

"Kind of like your name- Violet. Do you remember your real name?" asked Spencer.

"I need my daddy. We need to go." said Violet.

"Where is it that you need to go? Maybe we can help you." said Spencer.

"He said you would do that." said Violet.

"Do what?" asked JJ.

"Ask questions and lie. Especially about him." said Violet.

"We know what he did to you, Violet. Gina told us everything." said JJ.

"You found her? Did you find Daisy, too?" asked Violet.

"Her real name is Sheila. Sheila Woods. And, yes, we did." said Spencer as he thought about the grieving mother.

"She was super sick. Is she ok?" asked Violet.

"I'm sorry, but, no, she's not. The doctors did everything they could, but she didn't make it. She died." said JJ as gently as she could despite Violet turning around and crying, "You don't have to be afraid of him anymore. We can help you."

Violet turned around.

"He said you would say that, too. You don't know anything, OK? I would be dead without him. He's the only one who loves me." said Violet.

"Violet, please." said JJ.

"I-I gotta go. Please. I've been good. I haven't done anything bad. Can I go now? Please." pleaded Violet.

* * *

About an hour later Spencer was sitting on the couch in the waiting area as Hotch explained to them what Michael said to them.

"Nothing to hide, my ass. He's full of it." said Rossi.

Spencer who had a clipboard in his hands looked at Hotch, Rossi, and JJ.

"The preliminary M.E. report does suggest that Clara Riggins died of natural causes." said Spencer as he set down the clipboard.

"I think he's telling the truth about that. He didn't kill her." said Hotch.

"I'm sorry, guys. I can't stop thinking about Violet. She could not wait to get out of here, like it was urgent. It's all she could talk about." said JJ.

"Well, she'd been held captive most of her life. All this has to be a tremendous shock." said Rossi.

"No question about that, but that wasn't it. It's like she had somewhere specific in mind and she needed Thompson to go with her." said JJ.

"Well, he's conditioned her to depend on him for everything." said Hotch.

"Exactly. You condition someone by doing something over and over again. Now, we know he repeatedly abused them. I don't think she was itching to get out of here and go do that." said JJ.

"Maybe he did something to reward her somehow." said Rossi.

"What if she has a child? Where else would you want to go so badly?" asked JJ as she looked at the three other parents on the team.

"You know, that's not a stretch. Sheila Woods had a miscarriage. Maybe Violet brought one to term." said Rossi.

"We did profile he might be trying to fill some kind of void since he didn't have a family." said Spencer.

"Yeah, but Gina Bryant never mentioned any baby." said Rossi.

"Well, Violet could have had the baby before Gina was abducted. Gina wouldn't even know about it." said JJ.

"Well, if we're right about any of this, that means there's another kid somewhere out there." said Rossi.

"Then who's taking care of it?" asked JJ.

* * *

Spencer was talking to Amelia's parents before heading towards Hotch, JJ, and Dr. Givens.

"Amelia Hawthorne's parents are here." said Spencer as he thought about how they ended up asking him if he had kids before he showed a picture of Piper, Albert, and Ava to them.

"She could barely look at their photo. I can't imagine how she'll react in person." said JJ.

"Wait. Maybe we should give her more time. Psych hasn't completed a full evaluation yet. I mean, she could become hostile or maybe even retreat into a catatonic state." said Dr. Givens.

"We don't have time. Amelia may have information about the missing children that her parents could help unlock." said Hotch.

"It's a calculated risk, but one I think we have to take." said Spencer.

"I'll go update them." said JJ as she walked away.

"OK." said Dr. Givens.

* * *

Spencer and Morgan were escorting Amelia's parents to the room that Amelia was in with her daughters.

"You're gonna need to be patient with her." said Morgan.

"This might take a little time." said Spencer.

"Yeah, I know." said Maureen.

As Spencer and Morgan watched the reunion, Morgan looked at Spencer who was smiling at the sight of George hugging his daughter.

"Want to get home to your kids?" asked Morgan.

"I really want to go home to them since I told Olivia that I needed the kids to sleep with us when I got home." said Spencer as he sent Olivia a text message.

I WILL BE HOME TONIGHT SO I NEED THE KIDS TO SLEEP WITH US. ~ S

A minute later his phone vibrated.

I TOLD THE KIDS THAT YOU'RE COMING HOME TONIGHT AND THAT THEY'RE SLEEPING WITH US, AND THEY GOT EXCITED. ~ OR

Spencer smiled just as a gunshot sounded, causing Spencer and Morgan to sprint off in the direction of the gun shot only to see Hotch handcuffing Eileen and Dr. Givens checking Michael's body.

* * *

Two hours later they were flying back to Virginia when Morgan looked at Spencer.

"You OK pretty boy?" asked Morgan.

"This case made me realize that Piper, Albert, and Ava are old enough to learn about stranger danger and some basic self defense moves, so other than bonding with DJ during my upcoming paternity leave, I'm going to work on that project." said Spencer.

"Probably a good idea." said Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"So what are you doing with Savannah for Valentine's Day?" asked Spencer.

"Taking her out for dinner." said Morgan.

"Olivia and I are having a family movie night with the kids since Olivia's not up to going out for Valentine's Day." said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"I think you and Olivia having a date at home with the kids like you guys did last year is perfect." said JJ.

* * *

Three hours later Spencer was fast asleep with Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava in his and Olivia's king sized bed.

* * *

The next Sunday, Spencer and Olivia were cuddling with the kids in the living room watching "Hotel Transylvania 2" as their family date for Valentine's Day.


	17. A Badge and a Gun & Derek

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds_

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 16._

 _Olivia's now 36 weeks pregnant so not much longer since I decided to combine A Badge and a Gun and Derek._

* * *

Spencer got off the elevator and Garcia quickly approached him.

"Even though I would love to find out how Olivia's doctor appointment went, there's a case." said Garcia before trailing off to Morgan's office.

Spencer quickly headed to his desk where he removed his winter jacket and set his bags under his desk before heading up to the conference room, and a few minutes later Garcia was briefing them.

"Los Angeles, here we come again. Earlier this morning, Isabella Jayne was found in her home in Atwater Village. This comes on the heels of Gertrude Smiles being discovered in her house in Eagle Rock 5 miles away. Both women had been wrapped up and left in their bedrooms, Gertrude in a rug, Isabella in her own sheets." started Garcia.

"Prelim M.E. report says that both victims died of asphyxiation." said Hotch.

"Were there any other signs of physical trauma?" asked Spencer.

"None." said Garcia.

"So suffocating them gets him off." said Morgan

"We've seen erotic asphyxiation before, but this is different. I mean, he's completely encapsulating these women." said Spencer.

"It sounds like remorse. Maybe the unsub knew his victims." said JJ.

"Both of them are single. It's possible he's romantically involved with them." said Spencer.

"Or they're surrogates for someone he feels guilty about killing." said Morgan.

"Whatever the reason, there's something about wrapping them that's important to him." said Rossi.

"There's no sign of burglary of forced entry. Somehow he's talking his way in." said Hotch.

"So they knew him or he used a ruse." said Morgan before looking at Garcia, "Baby girl, any connection jump up?" asked Morgan.

"Nothing yet, but I'm still digging." said Garcia.

"My gut says ruse. Charm and harm. He smooth talks women to gain their trust, and then when they let down their guard, he turns on them." said Rossi.

"Well, two victims in two days. Whatever he's doing works." said JJ.

"It could turn into a spree. Wheels up in 30." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Hotch.

"With Olivia being 36 weeks pregnant now, I'm planning that this will be my last case in the field since Olivia and I found out this morning that Olivia's a half a centimeter dilated." said Spencer.

"You can stay behind if you want." said Hotch.

Spencer shook his head.

"Dr. Carter believes that Olivia won't go into active labor for another week or two, and with the threats that she gave me when I drove her home I rather listen to my wife and travel with you guys." said Spencer.

"But as soon as you get a phone call that Olivia's in labor, I'm sending you back to DC." said Hotch.

"I know." said Spencer.

"What type of threats did she give you?" asked Morgan.

"Threats that I never want to repeat, and having an eidetic memory makes it hard to forget those threats." shuddered Spencer as he left the room to head to his desk, and 30 seconds later he was calling Olivia who answered on the second ring.

"I'm so sorry about those threats earlier." cried Olivia.

"I know it was the pregnancy hormones talking, and I wanted to let you know that I'm heading to Los Angeles." said Spencer.

"Again?" asked Olivia.

"Yes again, and when I mentioned that you were a half a centimeter dilated, Hotch told me that I could stay behind." said Spencer.

"We were told that it will be another week or two before DJ makes his debut, but I promise you that if contractions start before my water break I will call you." said Olivia.

"Hotch told me that if I get a phone call about you being in labor he's sending me home." said Spencer.

"You have time to talk to the kids?" asked Olivia.

"I have a few minutes." said Spencer as he spent the next couple of minutes telling the kids that he has to go away for a couple of days before promising that he would stay safe and that he loves everyone before hanging up.

* * *

"Well, it doesn't appear the unsub has a particular type. Gertrude was 29 and blond. Isabella was 40 and brunette." said JJ.

"And Garcia found no personal connection between connection between the victims." said Morgan.

"Both led low-risk lifestyles. Isabella worked from home doing medical billing. Gertrude was a marketing exec for a toy company." said Rossi.

"Both victims were also home alone during the day when they let him in." said Spencer.

"Rather than type, it may have been the women's circumstances that were important to him." said Hotch.

"You know, the wrapping of the victims and the fact that they were both found in the bedroom could indicate some sort of sexual or power dominance fetish, like claustrophilia." said Spencer.

"But don't most claustrophiliacs want to experience it for themselves?" asked JJ.

"Well, if the unsub was into that, he could be projecting his own fetish onto his victims." said Morgan just as Garcia's face popped onto the laptop.

"Sir, the L.A. division just reached out. There's been another woman found dead, wrapped head to toe in a bedsheet, this time in her kitchen." said Garcia.

"3 victims in two days. As predicted, we officially have a spree killer on our hands." said Rossi.

"And officially the LAPD has handed over the investigation." said Garcia.

"The motivation for spree killers is typically personal and retaliatory with an ultimate goal in mind." said Spencer.

"Christopher Dorner's motivation was payback for being fired by the LAPD. He set out to murder cops and their families." said Morgan.

"He killed a police officer and a sheriff's deputy, after killing two family members of another cop." said Rossi.

"So what's driving our unsub? And why now?" asked JJ.

"The answer's in his behavior. Garcia, let Agent Colfax know we're on the way." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir." said Garcia before signing off.

"Dave, when we land, you and Morgan go to the latest crime scene. Reid, you go the M.E., and JJ and I will get set up at the field office." said Hotch.

* * *

Dr. Bayo looked at Spencer.

"When we unwrapped the victim I noted obvious signs of asphyxia. Petechial hemorrhage, cyanosis in the nail beds. Pretty clear that's the C.O.D." said Dr. Bayo before Spencer looked at the sheet.

"She was wrapped in this?" asked Spencer.

"Mm-hmm." said Dr. Bayo.

Spencer reached for the switch to turn on a light, causing him to instantly notice bite marks.

"Look, bite marks. She attempted to chew through the material to get some air, which means she was wrapped premortem." said Spencer.

"Yes, like the other victims. There was also a tear in the upper frenulum." said Dr. Bayo.

Spencer looked at the body.

"The skin around her nose and mouth appears white, so he must have pressed down with his hand to smother her. Any sign of sexual assault?" asked Spencer.

"None. Same as the first two." said Dr. Bayo.

"So, smothering is either his M.O. or his ritual." said Spencer.

"What kind of ritual?" asked Dr. Bayo.

"Right now only he knows." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer and JJ were sitting across from Brian Lenahan.

"I wasn't even gone for 3 hours. How could this happen?" asked Brian.

"I'm sorry for your loss. If you need some time..." said JJ.

"No. I want to get the bastard who did this to Mary." said Brian.

"Can you try to tell us everything you remember about this morning?" asked Spencer.

"It was 8:30. And I was late, so... I ran out the door. I didn't even say goodbye to her." said Brian.

"And when did you come back?" asked JJ.

"Around 11:00. I had a post-production meeting and forgot my external drive." said Brian.

"So no one knew you'd be coming home this early?" asked Spencer as he thought about the times that he would surprise Olivia and the kids.

"I-I come and go all day. I mean, I could have been here. I should have..." said Brian before he started crying.

A few minutes later Spencer and JJ left the Lenanhan's apartment.

"Unlike the other victims, Mary Lenahan was married. The unsub took a serious risk targeting her." said JJ.

"Yeah, spree killers lose their focus over time. They get caught up in the thrill of going from kill to kill and become less organized." said Spencer as he and JJ approached Morgan.

"Well, she's the neighbor from across the courtyard. She didn't see or hear anything. Nobody else seems to be answering their door." said Morgan as they looked around before landing their eyes on a window that a woman was peeking out of, "Wait a minute. Looks like somebody's being a little shy." said Morgan, causing the trio to head over to the apartment.

30 seconds later JJ was knocking on the door.

"Ma'am, we're with the FBI. We need to talk to you about something important. We know you're home." said JJ.

The door opened, revealing the woman who was spying on them.

"I'm Agent Jareau. These are my colleagues. And you are?" asked JJ.

"Susan Groves. I have a bad heart and I don't want to get involved." said Susan.

"We understand. We'll be quick." said JJ.

"Did you happen to see anyone enter or exit the Lenahan apartment this morning?" asked Spencer.

"I heard a noise, so I looked out the peephole. I saw a man come out around 10:30." said Susan.

"Can you describe him?" asked Morgan.

"He was a handsome fellow, all dressed up in a suit." said Susan.

"Have you ever seen him before?" asked Spencer.

"No. But..." said Susan.

"But what?" asked JJ.

"I think Mary might have been cheating on Brian." said Susan.

"What makes you say that?" asked JJ.

"As the man was leaving, I saw him buttoning up his shirt, straightening his tie like he was getting re-dressed." said Susan.

JJ looked at her two male coworkers.

"Is there anything else that you noticed about him?" asked Morgan.

"Well, he didn't seem to be the kind of man to have a scary tattoo." said Susan.

"Tattoo? Can you describe it?" asked Morgan.

"It was a spider web, right here." said Susan as she demonstrated before speaking again, "I saw it just before he buttoned his collar."

* * *

Spencer headed to the coffee machine where Agent Colfax was fixing herself a cup of coffee.

"Coffee's fresh." said Natalie.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he grabbed a to go cup and started to fix himself some coffee.

Natalie looked at Spencer as she remembered him talking about his wife being in the second trimester of her pregnancy the last time they worked together.

"Your wife have that baby yet Dr. Reid?" asked Natalie.

"Not yet, but this morning I was at the doctor's office with Olivia and we found out that she's a half centimeter dilated so only one to two more weeks until I get to meet DJ." said Spencer as he stirred sugar into his coffee.

"How much longer and what does DJ stand for?" asked Natalie.

"Only four more weeks, and DJ stands for Daniel Jason Reid." said Spencer.

Natalie thought about Spencer mentioning that he has three more children.

"How are your three other children handling the news about getting a baby brother?" asked Natalie.

"Albert's showing the most excitement about getting a baby brother and Piper's warmed up faster to getting another brother than Albert's twin sister Ava did." chuckled Spencer before taking a sip.

* * *

"We believe we're looking for a white male in his early 40s who's posing as one of us." said Hotch as a composite sketch of their unsub was passed around.

"He's using fake or stolen FBI credentials as a ruse to gain entry into the homes of vulnerable women." said Rossi.

"The cobweb tattoo on his neck symbolizes a very long prison term, most likely for violent crimes." said Morgan.

"That's where he picked up his criminal sophistication." said Rossi.

"Now, he was probably forced to develop his verbal skills just to survive on the inside." said Morgan.

"This means he's articulate, socially adept, and appears non-threatening." said JJ.

"These are some of the same qualities that made Ted Bundy such an effective predator." said Hotch.

"Like Ted Bundy, the unsub most likely has anti-social personality disorder and may also suffer from claustrophilia." said Spencer.

"What's that?" asked Detective Oliver.

"An extreme form of bondage. Sexual arousal is connected to the anxiety of feeling confined, usually by total encasement in tight spaces." said JJ.

"It's typically practiced by consenting partners, but the unsub's anti-social nature turned it into his method of killing. It's possible he suffered from claustrophilia while in prison and is now revisiting that trauma onto his victims." said Spencer.

"Or it happened before prison. An event in his teenage years antagonized his already latent deviance." said Rossi.

"This guy gets off on the power of impersonating law enforcement and the respect and access credentials command. This affirmation seeking behavior is what motivates him." said Morgan.

"It means he's driven by more than wanting to hear yes. He needs his victims to let their guard down, allow him into their homes, cooperate. The ruse gives him that." said JJ.

"How's he choosing his victims?" asked Detective Oliver.

"Well, his selection criteria is simply availability and vulnerability." said JJ.

"He's a highly organized thinker and planner, and he executes his ruse with confidence, but he is on a spree and he will devolve. LAPD should increase patrols in targeted neighborhoods, and my team will visit and assess the earlier crime scenes. Thank you." finished Hotch.

* * *

Spencer got out of the front passenger seat and followed Rossi towards Detective Oliver.

"Did you find him yet?" asked Detective Oliver.

"He got away, but we set up roadblocks." said Rossi.

"He's probably wounded. I got a shot off before he drove away." said Detective Oliver.

"We'll check with local hospitals." said Spencer.

"Tell us exactly what happened when you approached him. Did you recognize him right away?" asked Rossi.

"No. I mean, he fit the general description, but he could have been a boyfriend. So I asked if he lived there." said Detective Oliver.

"What did he say?" asked Spencer as he thought about how lucky Detective Oliver was since all police officers and agents who went undercover followed their instructions of wearing their vests.

"It's ok. I'm Agent Miller with the FBI." So I showed him my badge and I asked for his credentials. And that's when I saw it. Spider web tattoo. He got off two shots before I even cleared my holster. And then he took off for his car." said Detective Oliver.

"What do you remember about his car?" asked Rossi.

"Dark-blue sedan, probably Crown Vic. There was a baseball cap in the rear window. I tried to make the plates, but the light above the license was out." said Detective Oliver.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Probably disabled it." said Rossi.

"Tell us more about the baseball cap. Were there any identifying marks or anything?" asked Spencer.

"I think there were two rifles, a white one and a red one." said Detective Oliver.

"Wait a minute. Was one crossed over the other?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, I think so." said Detective Oliver.

* * *

Spencer and JJ knocked on the door of Agent Sulzbach's house, and after hearing no response Spencer opened the door and pulled out his revolver before he and JJ entered the house.

"Agent Sulzbach? FBI." said JJ as she and Spencer started looking through the house until Spencer looked into the little dining area.

"Found him." said Spencer sadly before they ended up calling a CSI team and a coroner.

* * *

As coroners wheeled Agent Sulzbach's body away, Spencer approached JJ.

"Preliminary C.O.D.'s a gunshot wound to the chest." said Spencer.

JJ looked at the wall that held awards and pictures, causing her to think about how Spencer displays his awards in his living room.

"Look at all this. Definitely had a decorated career in the FBI." said JJ sadly before becoming serious, "So someone went through all of his old case files and mementos."

"It had to be the unsub. He must have stolen Ed's credentials and Camp Russell hat." said Spencer as JJ's cellphone rang.

"Hey, Penelope, what do you have on Sulzbach?" asked JJ.

"Ed was a really good egg. After he retired in 2009, he went on to volunteer at a place called New Start, which helps recently released inmates transition back into society." said Garcia.

"Anyone matching the unsub's profile and description?" asked Spencer.

"Um... Yes. Spider web tattoo and all. Andrew Meeks. 39. He was put on parole last year after serving 15 years for attempted murder. Sulzbach got him a job as a janitor at a downtown office building." said Garcia.

"Must have gotten Ed to tell war stories about being in the FBI, saw the respect he got, and wanted it for himself." said JJ.

"We should put out an APB on Sulzbach's car. It's probably what the unsub's driving. Garcia, who did Meeks try to murder? Uh...Fellow high school classmate who as a prank rolled Meeks in a gym mat. Some high school girls lured Meeks into the gym." said Garcia as she thought about when Spencer told her about the goalpost incident.

"So all of this is about payback?" asked JJ.

"Meeks almost suffocated inside that mat." said Garcia.

"By smothering those women, he's symbolically getting revenge on the girls who set him up." said Spencer.

"And posing as an FBI agent, he gets the power and authority he never had before. Address, please." said JJ.

"Work and home just sent." said Garcia before hanging up.

* * *

As Spencer and JJ headed towards one of the addresses, they heard a dispatcher over the radio.

"All units be advised, suspect Meeks located with hostage at 352 Vine. Officers request immediate backup. Suspect is armed and dangerous." said a dispatcher.

"JJ, you're closest. We'll be there as soon as we can." said Hotch as he knew that Spencer and JJ would have to be in charge of taking down Andrew.

"You got it." said JJ as the cellphone in the SUV rang.

"Go ahead, Garcia." answered Spencer.

"I've dug deeper into Meeks' past. I've got his psych eval. It's really terrible." said Garcia.

"How bad is it?" asked Rossi in another SUV.

"It's not an excuse, but his stepfather was the evil kind. Meeks had accidents up to the age of 6, which is normal for a kid. But his step-dad would make him wear his soiled underwear on his face in public." said Garcia, causing JJ to notice the grimace that Spencer was making.

"So Meeks' humiliation started young." said Morgan.

"And it's been building for a long time." said Hotch.

"And before he was paroled, Meeks' psychologist said, "Meeks is full of latent rage, for all intents and purposes, a ticking time bomb." He recommended that Meeks go to a psychiatric facility." said Garcia.

"How did they parole this guy?" asked Rossi.

"You know, it happens all the time. Some judge probably ordered a prisoner release due to overcrowding, and Meeks must have just slipped through the cracks." said Spencer.

"Sulzbach may have discovered that he had access to Meeks' file." said Hotch.

"According to Sulzbach's cell phone records, his last call was to the department of corrections psychologist. It lasted all of 5 seconds." said Garcia.

"Well, that's gotta be the trigger. He was gonna report the error, and Meeks must have killed him to avoid being locked up again." said Spencer.

"Be careful, you guys." said Garcia.

"We will try." said Spencer before hanging up.

A few minutes later Spencer and JJ arrived at the scene, and carefully made their way to one of the officers. Spencer, who approached the officer first spoke up.

"He make any demands?" asked Spencer.

"Just shut up. Just shut up." shouted Meeks.

"Lock down the perimeter. He's not getting out of here." instructed JJ as she and Spencer pointed their guns at Meek.

"Got it." said the officer before grabbing his radio, "Lock it down. No one in or out."

JJ looked at Spencer as she thought about the plan that they came up with.

"You ready?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded as he got out of his hiding spot and made his way towards the side of the police car as Meek talked to his hostage.

"Just shut up!" shouted Meeks.

"Andrew Meeks, FBI." shouted JJ.

"Drop the weapon, Andrew!" ordered Spencer.

"You drop your weapon!" shouted Andrew.

"The only way you're getting out of here is if you let her go and put the gun down." ordered JJ.

"No! No way." shouted Andrew.

"You wanted revenge, but this ends right here, right now." said Spencer.

"She's terrified, Andrew. You hear her breathing? Do you remember feeling scared like that when you were being smothered in that gym mat?" asked JJ.

"So, you did it!" shouted Andrew as he shot at JJ who ended up ducking as Spencer fired his revolver a couple of times, instantly causing Andrew to fall to the ground, causing Spencer and JJ to make their way to Andrews with their guns out.

Spencer checked Andrew's pulse before shaking his head at JJ who placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort of having to kill another man before Spencer also squeezed JJ's arm. They checked to see if Meeks was carrying Sulzbach's badge.

"Thank you for saving my life." said JJ.

"You would have done the same thing." said Spencer as Rossi, Hotch, and Morgan came running towards them.

"You two OK?" asked Hotch as he noticed how pale Spencer's face was.

"I ended up doing the kill shot since he shot at JJ." said Spencer as the officer came forward.

"It's a clean shot since everyone witnessed it." said the officer before looking at Spencer, "Nice shot."

"My fifth kill shot during my 12 years working for the BAU." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer entered the field office with his teammates, and Agent Colfax approached them.

"I heard that you did the kill shot, Dr. Reid." said Agent Colfax.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

Agent Colfax pulled out a card.

"As soon as Daniel's born, please email me some pictures of him with his siblings." said Agent Colfax.

"I promise." said Spencer.

* * *

Over five and a half hours later Spencer entered the house and shook his head when he saw Piper, Albert, and Ava sitting on the couch watching a movie despite it being already 9 PM.

"What are you guys doing up?" asked Spencer.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once as they shot off the couch and sprinted towards their daddy, who instantly knelt on the floor to hug his children.

Olivia waddled into the room.

"When I told them that you were coming home, they insisted on staying up." said Olivia as she watched her husband hug and kiss their kids.

"I appreciate you three waiting up for me, and from now on until a month after DJ is born I will be home every night." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava before yawning.

"Time for bed, munchkins." said Spencer as he scooped up Albert and Ava while Olivia took Piper's hand, allowing the family of five soon to be six to head upstairs.

As soon as they were in the hallway, Spencer set down Albert.

"I tuck in Albert while you tuck in the girls." said Olivia as she took ahold of her sleepy son's hands.

An hour later Piper, Albert, and Ava were all asleep in their beds and Spencer who was in his pajamas like Olivia was, picking up toys when Olivia looked at her husband.

"You OK?" asked Olivia as she thought about how tired her husband sounded over the phone.

"I ended up doing the kill shot to save JJ's life, and I have a mandatory psych evaluation next week." said Spencer just as his phone rang causing him to answer it, "Yeah Hotch?"

"I just got a call from Savannah saying that Morgan's been abducted, and JJ's on her way to pick you up so tell Olivia that she shouldn't be surprised if a security detail shows up at your house." said Hotch.

Olivia watched her husband pale, causing her to put a hand on his arm.

"What's wrong Spencer?" asked Olivia.

Spencer ignored his wife as he briefed Hotch.

"Have you told the agents who will be part of the security detail protecting my family that Olivia's 36 weeks pregnant?" asked Spencer as he hurried upstairs, causing Olivia to follow after him.

"I already told them, and Georgetown University Hospital is upping security for your mom." said Hotch before hanging up.

Olivia looked at her husband who was putting on clean clothes.

"What's wrong and why is there a security detail coming?" asked Olivia.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"Morgan's been abducted, and I need you to stay calm so you don't go into labor yet." said Spencer as he ran downstairs, causing Olivia to follow him as quick as she could as she heard pounding on the basement door.

"What's wrong Spencer?" asked William as he took in the sight of his son being paler than normal and wearing different clothes.

"Morgan's been abducted, and I need you to keep an eye on Olivia. Hotch mentioned that a security detail is coming so don't get scared if you see agents outside our house since you know that I dealt with security details in the past." said Spencer.

"What about Diana?" asked William.

"Georgetown University Hospital is going to request more security guards to protect mom." said Spencer as he heard JJ honking the horn of her SUV and looked at Olivia and his dad, "I love you guys and I will stay safe while keeping you guys updated on Morgan as much as I can." said Spencer as he gave Olivia a quick hug and kiss before hugging his dad and bolting out the house as William armed the security system.

"You OK Olivia?" asked William when he noticed the tears streaming down her face.

"Six weeks ago when Spencer went undercover I was afraid that he wouldn't be coming home, and yesterday Savannah stopped by and told me that she's pregnant while making me promise not to tell anyone about what's going on." said Olivia.

"Knowing Spencer, he's going to help find Derek." said William.

"It's not easy to be married to an FBI agent, but Spencer has taught me how to defend myself and how to shoot a gun." said Olivia.

* * *

Spencer and JJ hurried towards Hotch who noticed that Spencer was working hard at keeping himself together, causing him to think back to when Spencer was being held by Hankel.

"What did you find?" asked Hotch as he noticed that Spencer was wearing clean clothes and his hair was slightly damp, meaning that he didn't get any sleep when he called him.

"No sign of him." said Spencer as he handed Hotch some papers, "But they left this in his car at the parking lot. Could Savannah tell us anything?"

"She said she thought she heard 3 attackers and that Morgan sounded drugged before they cut off the call." said Hotch.

"Then it's a coordinated, planned attack, most likely professional." said JJ.

"We did just take down a network of online hitmen, but if this is blowback, why Morgan?" asked Spencer as he thought about the godfather of Albert and Ava.

"We have to assume that we're all targeted. I've put protective details on each of our families, but I want Savannah to stay here." said Hotch.

"How is she?" asked JJ.

"She's being brave." said Hotch.

"If it was me that was abducted, Olivia probably would have gone into labor." said Spencer.

"She probably would have, and I sent female agents to your house." said Hotch.

"Thanks." said Spencer right as Garcia approached them causing Spencer to alert Rossi, "Garcia needs us." said Spencer softly.

A few minutes later Garcia was showing them Morgan's last coordinates, causing Spencer to think about how his mother doesn't like it that the FBI keeps track of him 24/7.

"This is the block Derek was taken from. That blue dot is him. And then at 9:23, we lose him. So I checked all the other cell signals in the area. They're all legit, aside from one that I was only able to find thanks to some technology no one outside this room needs to know about." said Garcia.

"What is that?" asked Spencer as he thought about how Garcia was crying earlier, based on how her voice was while he's fighting to keep himself together for his big brother.

"An encrypted signal most likely bouncing off a satellite." said Hotch.

"I know we're thinking this would be tied to our Darknet investigation, but satellite encryption is much higher in technology than most online crime." said Spencer.

"That's true, but the hitmen are still our best lead. We need to exhaust that before we move on to other theories. JJ, you and Garcia will take an armed agent to Savannah's house and get her to pack a bag." said Hotch.

"Yes, sir. Absolutely. But why me?" asked Garcia.

"Because while she gathers her things, we're going to see if they were under surveillance." said JJ.

"Whoever's behind this has been planning this for weeks, if not months. We have no time to catch up. Let's move." said Hotch before everyone got to business.

A minute later Spencer was fixing himself some coffee when Hotch approached him.

"Are you going to handle this?" asked Hotch.

"I have to since Tara isn't here right now, and you remember that I kept it together during JJ's abduction." said Spencer before looking at Hotch, "Am I keeping it together better than Morgan was when I was abducted by Hankel?"

"You are." said Hotch before thinking about Olivia, "How did Olivia handle the news?"

"She's staying calm the best she can so the stress we're going through doesn't cause her to go into labor, but with her already being a half centimeter dilated I wouldn't be surprised if she goes into labor during the next couple of days." said Spencer.

* * *

Hank looked at his son.

"Good think you know someone with a PhD. in chemistry." said Hank as he thought about the moments he watched between Derek and Spencer, especially when it came to Derek interacting with his godchildren.

"A couple years back when our troops encountered white phosphorus in Iraq, Reid took it upon himself to find a cure. The kid wouldn't shut up about copper sulfate." said Morgan.

"Well, maybe you should thank him the next time you see him." said Hank.

"Am I ever going to see him again?" asked Morgan as he thought about how Spencer became the little brother he always wanted, "He became the little brother that I always wanted, and when he got married over four years ago and started having kids with his wife I realized that I needed to think about my future since Spencer ended up naming me Albert's and Ava's godfather and despite his three and a half year old daughter Piper becoming a niece to me, he and his wife are going to be welcoming Daniel Jason Reid in about four weeks." said Morgan.

"That's up to you." said Hank.

* * *

Spencer crossed his arms when JJ entered the room.

"My contact at the Agency told me the guys who took Derek are freelance contractors and not on our side." said JJ.

"So they're ex-spooks?" asked Rossi.

"Mostly foreign, a few domestic. These guys have figured out how to piggyback on existing infrastructure to hide their tracks. My contact thinks it might be this group." said JJ as a picture popped up on the screen.

"It's hard to sync out who might be hitching a ride on their computer traffic. Fortunately, one of the CIA versions of me is trying to crack their encryption signatures." said Garcia.

"What do we know about them so far?" asked Spencer.

"A 6-man team. They do dirty work for the highest bidder." said JJ.

"What kind of dirty work?" asked Rossi.

"From what we can tell, disappearances. If you need someone politically inconvenient to disappear, these guys make that happen." said JJ.

Hotch noticed something on a photo.

"Garcia, can you zoom in on the tattoo on his forearm?" asked Hotch.

"Yeah." said Garcia as she put a zoomed in picture on the monitor and Rossi voiced their thoughts.

"Morgan's in more trouble than we thought." said Rossi.

* * *

A short while later Garcia was looking at her teammates.

"I-I may have a line on him. I just got notification from Fort Eustis. That encrypted SAT phone, it became active again and we managed to pin down one side to here. It is a 20-mile radius in the woods in Virginia. The other side was to a contractor who didn't even bother not to use his own cell phone." said Garcia.

"Arrogant. He thinks we can't find him." said Rossi.

"And he would be wrong. He being John Bradley, not S.A.S. as we had suspected. Bradley and Mr. Who Dares Wins tried to become S.A.S, but they couldn't cut it, not to mention people who are S.A.S. don't get tattoos saying S.A.S. because S.A.S. is covert. That is the point. But apparently people who are dishonorably discharged from the British Royal Marines do get that tattoo." said Garcia.

"Your last ping has him in Derek's direction. He's probably on his way to him now." said Spencer as he thought about his big brother who needed him.

"We've got helos on the roof standing by for immediate transport." said Hotch.

"Any way we can narrow down the search?" asked JJ.

"Yes. Their encryption algorithms are dust. If and when that SAT phone connects, I've got him." said Garcia and a couple of seconds later she looked at her team, "Sir, it just went live."

Hotch looked at his team.

"Let's go." said Hotch.

Spencer quickly sprinted out of the room with his teammates trailing after him as he pressed the down button of the elevator, and as the door opened he held it for Hotch, JJ, and Rossi as he looked at Garcia and nodded at her before he joined his teammates in the elevator and he nodded at Garcia one last time.

* * *

Morgan inwardly sighed with relief when he saw his little brother creeping quietly around the corner.

"Come on. It's time to die." said John Bradley.

"Not yet." said Morgan.

John looked towards Spencer who instantly pulled the trigger of his revolver two times, causing the bullets to hit John just as Hotch and Rossi burst into the house.

"Get medical in here." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was helping Hotch, Rossi, and a paramedic carry the backboard that had Morgan strapped on outside, and when Spencer helped place Morgan onto the gurney, Morgan looked at him.

"Dad..." said Morgan.

"What is it, Morgan? What is it?" asked Spencer gently.

"I'm scared, Pop." said Morgan before he was loaded into the ambulance.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was back at the BAU with Hotch, Rossi, and JJ when Hotch looked at Spencer.

"You go home to Olivia and the kids and let them know in person that Morgan's going to be OK." said Hotch as he used the tone to tell Spencer that it was an order.

"OK." said Spencer as he handed Hotch the paperwork he had to fill out before heading to the elevators.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer quietly entered his and Olivia's bedroom, and Olivia woke up to see her husband.

"You find Derek?" asked Olivia.

"He's at the hospital right now, and Hotch ordered me to come home to let you know that he's going to be OK." said Spencer.

Olivia groaned in pain as she felt her water break.

"You OK Livy?" asked Spencer as he rushed towards his wife.

"It's a good thing that you came home when you did because my water just broke." said Olivia.

* * *

 _A/N: I thought that having Olivia's water break be a good way to end this chapter._


	18. Daniel Jason Reid

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to Hippichic81, Astrahan, Chermayne, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 17._

 _Olivia's water broke at 5 AM in the last chapter, and let's just say that DJ's birth is going to be more dramatic than the births of Piper, Albert, and Ava were._

* * *

Previously in chapter 17.

 _ **Over an hour later Spencer quietly entered his and Olivia's bedroom, and Olivia woke up to see her husband.**_

 _ **"You find Derek?" asked Olivia.**_

 _ **"He's at the hospital right now, and Hotch ordered me to come home to let you know that he's going to be OK." said Spencer.**_

 _ **Olivia groaned in pain as she felt her water break.**_

 _ **"You OK Livy?" asked Spencer as he rushed towards his wife.**_

 _ **"It's a good thing that you came home when you did, because my water just broke." said Olivia.**_

* * *

Spencer quickly got into action of helping Olivia get out of bed and change into dry clothes, and as soon as he helped her get downstairs he pounded on the basement door. William came up a minute later and looked at his daughter in law.

"It's time?" asked William.

"Yes, and your going to need to throw the sheets and mattress protector into the wash." said Spencer.

William quickly got into action with helping his son get Olivia into his Prius and made sure that they had everything they needed, and after giving his son a hug and Olivia a kiss on the cheek, Spencer was driving Olivia to the hospital while William called Olivia's doctor.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was standing outside Olivia's birthing suite as he pulled out his phone to call Hotch.

"Hotchner." said a groggy Hotch.

"Sorry to wake you up Hotch, but I'm at Georgetown Medical Center with Olivia because Daniel decided to make his debut." said Spencer.

Hotch instantly woke up.

"Just stay with Olivia and keep us updated while we keep you updated on Morgan." said Hotch.

"I promise." said Spencer just as Dr. Carter opened up the door and looked at Spencer.

"You can come in now." said Dr. Carter.

"I have to go, and please let the others know that my phone will be off." said Spencer before hanging up.

Dr. Carter looked at Spencer, noticing the dark circles under his eyes and rumpled work clothes.

"Your wife was given a sedative since she's only two centimeters dilated right now, and I hope I'm not being rude when I say this but you look like hell." said Dr. Carter.

"I just worked two back to back cases with no sleep at all, and it doesn't help that Albert's and Ava's godfather is currently in another hospital right now." said Spencer as he typed a text message for Hotch to let him know how far Olivia was.

"Get some sleep yourself since I'm keeping you two here since you're in no condition to drive and it's going to be over 12 hours until your son makes his debut." said Dr. Carter.

A few minutes later Spencer was reclining in the armchair by Olivia's bed and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

Two hours later Piper walked into the kitchen with Albert and Ava to see her grandpa making breakfast.

"Where's mommy and daddy?" asked Piper.

William smiled at his grandchildren.

"Mommy went into labor about three hours ago so your baby brother is going to be born later." said William.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"We're staying here until daddy give us the all clear to go to visit mommy in the hospital." said William as he helped his grandchildren get into their booster seats.

"Can we draw pictures for mommy's hospital room?" asked Piper as she thought about how her mommy sat her down and told her that she will be in the hospital for a couple of days.

"We sure can." said William as he set breakfast down in front of his grandchildren.

* * *

Meanwhile at a hospital in Virginia, Hotch, Rossi, and JJ met up with Savannah and Garcia in the hospital's cafeteria for breakfast.

"I thought that Spence was suppose to meet us here?" asked JJ.

Hotch looked at Rossi, JJ, Garcia, and Savannah.

"Reid's at Georgetown University Hospital right now since Olivia went into labor three hours ago, and from what Reid told me two hours ago, Olivia was only two centimeters dilated so it's going to be over 12 hours until DJ is born." said Hotch with a small smile on his face.

Rossi, JJ, Garcia, and Savannah all smiled.

"At least we have something to smile about while we wait for Derek to wake up." said Rossi.

"With Spence being where he needs to be, I think I will go see if William needs help with his grandchildren." said JJ.

"That's a good idea, and I will join you." said Hotch.

"I'm staying here." said Savannah.

"Me too, but please tell Boy Wonder that as soon as DJ's born I expect pictures." said Garcia.

* * *

An hour later Olivia woke up to a knock on the door and JJ poked her head in.

"Sorry that I woke you up." said JJ as she stepped into the room with Hotch.

Olivia looked at the clock.

"I have been asleep for three hours." said Olivia before seeing her husband reclined in the recliner and covered up in a blanket, "Spencer's definitely out like a light."

"With how emotionally draining the past two cases were for him, I'm not surprised." said Hotch quietly.

"So what happened?" asked Olivia.

Hotch started explaining what happened in LA and then about Morgan's condition, and when he was finished Olivia looked at Hotch.

"Is Derek in this hospital or another hospital?" asked Olivia.

"He's in another hospital in Virginia, and it's going to be a few days before he wakes up." said JJ.

Olivia spent a couple of more minutes talking to Hotch and JJ before a nurse entered the room and shooed them out so she could check on Olivia.

"Should I wake up your husband?" asked the nurse.

"Let him sleep because the last two nights he had to pull all nighters at work with very little sleep." said Olivia.

"As soon as I'm done jotting down your vitals, I will help you walk around in the hallway while your husband sleeps." said the nurse.

"Thanks." said Olivia.

* * *

Three hours later Spencer woke up to his wife smiling at him.

"Hey there sleepy head." said Olivia.

"How long was I asleep?" asked Spencer as he stood up and stretched his tired muscles.

"Based on what Dr. Carter told me five minutes ago, you were asleep for six hours so you slept through a nurse helping me walk around the hallway." said Olivia.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you." said Spencer as he removes his glasses and rubbed his gritty eyes.

"It's OK Spencer. You just worked two emotionally draining cases, and while you were sleeping Aaron and JJ stopped by over three hours ago and they told me what happened so they allowed you to sleep." said Olivia.

"So what did Dr. Carter say about your progress?" asked Spencer.

"I'm now two and a half centimeters dilated." said Olivia as Spencer's stomach, growled causing Olivia to giggle, "Dr. Carter is picking you up some food right now since you need to eat."

Five minutes later, Dr. Carter entered the room with a tray of food and a cup of coffee with packets of sugar.

"So the sleepyhead awakens." said Dr. Carter.

Spencer shook his head.

"I got you some tomato soup two grilled cheese sandwiches, and after eating you can use your wife's shower and put on some clean clothes." said Dr. Carter.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he added the amount of sugar he wanted into his coffee and dug into his tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches before heading into his wife's bathroom and taking a shower, causing him to feel rejuvenated.

* * *

15 hours later Dr. Carter entered the room and checked on Olivia's progressed and frowned when she only saw that Olivia was only five centimeters dilated.

"You're only five centimeters dilated Olivia, and are you sure that you don't want to be given drugs to help further labor?" asked Dr. Carter.

Spencer and Olivia looked at each other before Olivia answered.

"No." said Olivia firmly.

"Then I have no choice but to perform a C-section, but that means a longer recovery period and no breast feeding until I give you the all clear." said Dr. Carter.

"Fine." said Olivia.

"Right now the operating rooms are occupied, so get some rest before a nurse comes in here to prep you for surgery." said Dr. Carter before leaving the room.

Olivia looked at her husband who was pulling out his medallion and fiddled with it.

"You do know that I won't be able to refuse pain medication after surgery." said Olivia.

"I know, and I will attend a few meetings during my paternity leave because of taking the kill shot in LA and taking the kill shot on the man that was about to kill Morgan." said Spencer before pulling out his phone and sent a text to his dad.

WITH OLIVIA NOW BEING ONLY FIVE CENTIMETERS DILATED, OLIVIA DECIDED TO HAVE A C-SECTION. ~ SR

A minute later his dad replied.

THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW, AND PLEASE SEND ME A PICTURE AS SOON AS DJ'S BORN. ~ WR

Spencer then sent a text message to JJ, Rossi, Hotch, Garcia, and Tara who was already back in DC.

EVEN THOUGH YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY SLEEPING RIGHT NOW, ITS BEEN DECIDED THAT WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR OLIVIA WILL BE GETTING AN EMERGENCY C-SECTION DONE. SO YOU GUYS WILL WAKE UP TO A PICTURE OF DANIEL. ~ SR

* * *

An hour later Spencer was dressed in scrubs and sitting on a stool by a wide awake Olivia who was laying on the operating room table.

"With the spinal block you were given, you won't be feeling anything at all Olivia." said Dr. Carter as she looked at Olivia who was holding her husband's hand, "And with that mirror over there you two can watch what I'm doing."

"OK." said Olivia.

"You guys ready?" asked Dr. Carter.

"Yes." said Spencer and Olivia in unison as Spencer positioned himself so he could look into his wife's eyes while looking at the mirror so he could watch everything.

15 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were both releasing happy tears as they watched Dr. Carter lift Daniel out of the incision sight.

"Congratulations mommy and daddy, it's a healthy baby boy." said Dr. Carter before looking at Spencer, "Would you like to cut the cord, Spencer?"

"Yes please." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was cutting the cord that connected Daniel to Olivia, and as soon as Olivia got to see their son, she looked at her husband.

"You go be with Daniel while Dr. Carter delivers the placenta and closes me up." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer before kissing his wife on the forehead, "I love you."

"I love you too." said Olivia.

Dr. Carter looked at Spencer.

"You will be reunited with Olivia in an hour." said Dr. Carter.

"Thank you." said Spencer as he got up and followed the nurse who was with his son.

* * *

A half hour later Nurse Lisa smiled at Spencer.

"Daniel is seven pounds and 21 inches." said Lisa as she placed Daniel into Spencer's arms.

"Hey there Daniel, I'm your daddy." said Spencer as he gently ran a finger through his son's cheek and smiled when he recognized Olivia's blue eyes staring at him before seeing the full head of blonde curls under his hat, "You have three and a half year old sister named Piper, a two and a half year old brother named Albert who will love to play with you, and your big sister Ava, who's also Albert's fraternal twin."

Daniel cooed at his daddy.

"Want me to take a picture of you holding your son so you can send it to family and friends?" asked Lisa.

"Yes please." said Spencer as he pointed his phone to Lisa, and a minute later she got a good picture of Spencer gazing lovingly at his son before Daniel started whimpering, "Someone's hungry."

"I will go get a bottle that your wife pumped earlier." said Lisa as she left the room.

* * *

Halfway into feeding his son, another nurse wheeled a wide awake Olivia into the room and she smiled at the sight of her husband feeding their son.

"How is he?" asked Olivia as the nurse helped Olivia get into her hospital bed.

"Doing OK." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "How's the pain level?"

"No pain right now due to the spinal block not wearing off yet." said Olivia as the nurse helped her get situated.

A nurse looked at Olivia.

"Press the call button if you need anything." said the nurse before leaving Spencer and Olivia with Daniel.

Spencer looked at Olivia.

"Daniel's seven pounds and 21 inches long." said Spencer.

"May I hold him when you're done feeding and burping him?" asked Olivia.

"Yes." said Spencer.

20 minutes later Olivia was finally holding her son while Spencer sent a picture message of Daniel to his team and family.

DANIEL JASON REID, BORN ON FEBRUARY 26TH AT 4:30 AM BY EMERGENCY C-SECTION AFTER 23 HOURS OF LABOR.

7 LB AND 21 INCHES LONG.

BOTH DANIEL AND OLIVIA ARE DOING FINE.

As soon as Spencer put down his phone, Olivia looked at her husband as she took in the sight of Daniel's hair.

"Do you recognize that blonde hair from anywhere?" asked Olivia.

"My mom's blonde hair." choked Spencer.

"He has my eyes and your nose." said Olivia.

"He's a perfect mixture of us, despite inheriting his grandma's blonde hair." said Spencer as a nurse came into the room and took Daniel from them so Spencer and Olivia could get some sleep.

* * *

Three hours later Diana Reid was getting dressed for the day when Cassie looked at her charge.

"I have to show you something." said Cassie.

"What is it?" asked Diana.

"You remember visiting your daughter in law Olivia in the maternity ward yesterday?" asked Cassie.

Diana thought about how she saw her daughter in law hooked up to monitors while seeing her son rub his wife's back.

"My grandson's finally born?" asked Diana.

Cassie showed the picture that Spencer sent her, and Diana teared up when she saw her final grandchild.

"He was born three hours ago by emergency C-section, and as soon as visiting hours start I can take you up to the maternity ward later so you can meet Daniel Jason Reid." said Cassie.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Reid family home, William's phone vibrated, and a few seconds later he was putting his cellphone on speaker.

"You're on speaker, Spencer." said William.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Hey there munchkins." said Spencer tiredly.

"Mommy have DJ?" asked Piper.

"Daniel was born at 4:30 this morning, and when grandpa brings you three munchkins to come meet your baby brother, you have to be extra careful around mommy for awhile since she had to get cut open to deliver Daniel." said Spencer.

Piper's mind raced as she thought about the books that were read to her to prepare her for the birth of her baby brother since she didn't remember her mommy being pregnant with Albert and Ava despite the pictures she saw.

"Mommy had a C-section?" asked Piper.

"Yes, and that means mommy will have to stay off her feet for awhile as the scar on her belly heals so you three will need to help grandpa and me around the house." said Spencer.

Piper looked at her grandpa.

"Do you have a picture of DJ?" asked Piper.

"I sure do." said William as he grabbed his tablet and showed his three oldest grandchildren a picture of their baby brother.

"I wan see him." said Albert.

"You guys can come in two hours since mommy and I are going to take a nap as soon as I hang up with you munchkins." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

* * *

Hotch smiled at his phone causing Jack to look at his dad.

"What's going on dad?" asked Jack.

"Come see for yourself." said Hotch.

Jack went to his dad and grinned at the picture of his uncle Spencer holding a baby.

"DJ arrived." said Jack.

"He was born by emergency C-section so when we go visit aunt Olivia and uncle Spencer in the hospital, you have to be careful since aunt Olivia will have a scar on her belly that will take a couple of weeks to heal." said Hotch.

"OK dad." said Jack as he thought about when his dad had surgery over two years ago.

"Let's get you to school, and after school I can take you to the hospital." said Hotch.

"OK." said the 10 year old boy.

* * *

Meanwhile JJ was smiling at the picture she just saw.

"What is it mom?" asked Henry.

JJ looked at her seven year old son.

"Uncle Spencer and aunt Olivia had Daniel over two hours ago by C-section." said JJ.

"What's a C-section?" asked Henry.

"Aunt Olivia had to be cut open so Daniel can be born, so for the next couple of weeks you have to be careful around her since she has a healing scar on her belly." said JJ before looking at her four month old son who was staring at her, "Michael, here's your new best friend, Daniel Jason Reid."

Michael babbled at the picture of his godfather holding another baby.

"Can we go see Daniel today?" asked Henry.

"After school, Henry." said JJ.

* * *

An hour later Spencer's phone vibrated, and a minute later he was smiling at Emily's face at his tablet.

"Despite getting a picture of my newest nephew three hours ago, I heard that you had a rough couple of days." said Emily as she thought about the phone call from Garcia.

"I know, but at least Morgan's eventually going to be OK." said Spencer.

"So can I see my new nephew?" asked Emily.

Spencer locked eyes with his wife before moving his tablet so Emily could see his wife and son.

"He's gorgeous." said Emily as she took in the sight of Olivia holding Daniel.

"He is, and I hope that his godmother can get away from London to be there for his Christening in three weeks." said Olivia.

"You want me to be his godmother?" asked Emily.

"JJ and Garcia told me that you deserve a turn to be a godmother to one of my children." said Spencer.

Emily grinned.

"I will tell my boss that I will need time off for my godson's Christening." said Emily before seeing some hair under DJ's hat, "I didn't got to see his hair yet, so please remove his hat."

Olivia gently removed her son's hat, and Emily gasped when she saw the full head of blonde curls.

"Daniel inherited his grandma's blonde hair and his father's curls." said Emily as she thought about the phone call she had with Spencer after Diana got diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

"Seeing his full head of hair was worth all that heartburn." said Olivia as she shifted Daniel in her arms.

Daniel started whimpering causing Spencer to address Emily.

"We have to get going since Daniel will need his bottle." said Spencer.

"Congratulations again Spencer, and I will be there in a couple of weeks with some presents for my new godson and Piper, Albert, and Ava." said Emily before signing off.

A few minutes later Spencer was giving Daniel his bottle as Olivia took a much needed nap.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer was waiting in the lobby and smiled when he saw Piper, Albert, and Ava running towards him with William trailing behind them.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Hey there munchkins." said Spencer.

William looked at his son.

"Gordon, Ethel, and Andrew decided that they would wait to meet Daniel until his Christening." said William.

"OK." said Spencer.

"Can we go see mommy?" asked Piper.

"We sure can, and remember what I told you guys over the phone about having to be extra careful around mommy, so when you want to kiss mommy I will have to lift you up." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava before Albert looked at his daddy.

"May I please have a piggy back ride?" asked the two and a half year old boy sweetly.

"You sure can buddy." said Spencer as he scooped up his oldest son and got him onto his shoulders while William took hold of his granddaughter's hands.

"Can we go get a balloon and flowers for mommy?" asked Piper.

"We sure can, Goober." said Spencer.

15 minutes later Spencer, William, Piper, Albert, and Ava were entering Olivia's hospital room and Olivia who was sitting up in bed, smiled at her three oldest babies.

"I missed you three babies." said Olivia as Spencer adjusted his oldest son who gave his mommy a kiss on the cheek.

"I no baby. I a big boy now." said Albert.

"You will always be my baby boy." said Olivia as she gave her oldest son a kiss on the forehead.

"My turn daddy." said Piper.

"Down you go, buddy." said Spencer as he carried his son to the couch before scooping up Piper who gave her mommy a kiss on the cheek that Olivia returned before it was Ava's turn.

As soon as Piper, Albert, and Ava were sitting on the couch, Piper looked at her mommy and daddy.

"Where's DJ?" asked Piper.

A nurse entered the room while pushing Daniel's crib and gasped when she saw Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"You three have definitely grown since you were babies." said the nurse.

"I'm three." said Piper as she held up three finger.

"I two." said Albert causing his twin sister to follow suit.

"So you three are here to meet your baby brother?" asked the nurse as she watched Spencer scoop up his youngest son and sit down in the recliner.

"Yes." said Piper.

The nurse looked at Spencer and Olivia.

"I will let your three oldest and grandpa meet Daniel, and in a little bit I think I will help find a way for your first family picture with Daniel." said the nurse as she thought about Olivia having to deal with a C-section this time.

"Thanks." said Spencer before motioning for Piper, Albert, and Ava to come towards him, "I would like to introduce you three to your baby brother, Daniel Jason Reid."

"He's little." said Piper as she stared at her baby brother in awe.

"You were this small once, but you were smaller than him when you were born." said Spencer as he looked at his oldest child.

"May I please hold him?" asked Piper.

"You sure can." said Spencer.

William scooped up his oldest granddaughter and put her on the couch, and a minute later Spencer was helping Piper hold her baby brother, causing Olivia to take a picture of her husband with her four babies.

"Can I hold my broter?" asked Albert.

"You can." said Spencer as he helped his son hold his baby brother before allowing Ava to have a turn.

As soon as Piper, Albert, and Ava were settled on the couch, William got the chance to hold his youngest grandchild.

"He definitely has gotten features from both of you while having his grandma's blonde hair." said William.

"We know." said Spencer as there was a knock on the door revealing nurse Cassie.

"Diana's having a good day so far, and she wants to meet her youngest grandchild." said Cassie as she led Diana into the room, and after Diana hugged and kissed her three oldest grandchildren, she was sitting down and holding her fourth and final grandchild.

"He's beautiful." said Diana as she took in the sights of Daniel's blonde curly hair and blue eyes that match his mother's eyes.

"We know." said Spencer as the nurse who was in the room earlier came in.

"With grandma finally being here, what do you say about having that family picture?" asked the nurse.

"A picture would be great." said Spencer.

After a few minutes of working logistics of Spencer helping Olivia get onto the couch and having William and Diana sit on either side of Spencer and Olivia who were holding their son together with the kids sitting on the floor, the nurse was taking a picture of the three generations of Reids.

* * *

At lunchtime Spencer was sitting in the recliner by his wife when there was a knock on the door revealing Rossi, Tara, and Garcia.

"Room for three more?" asked Rossi.

"Come on in guys." said Spencer before looking at Garcia, "I see that you were dragged away from Morgan." said Spencer as he got up and was given hugs by Garcia, Tara, and Rossi.

"Savannah told me that I should go shower and take the chance to hold the latest addition since she wants to wait until Derek wakes up." said Garcia as she gently gave Olivia a hug.

"Plus we brought you guys some non hospital food." said Tara as she held up a bag.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

"Hotch and JJ mentioned that they would stop by after school with Jack and Henry." said Garcia.

"They texted me that after I sent them that photo that Livy's nurse took of my parents, Olivia, the kids, and me together." said Spencer.

"That was a very nice family picture that you sent earlier." said Rossi.

"At least my nurse allowed me to get out of bed for the picture." grumbled Olivia.

"Where's Daniel?" asked Garcia as she noticed the lack of a crib.

"He was taken back to the nursery, but I will call the nurse to have him brought in." said Olivia as she reached for the button to have her son brought in.

"How are you doing Olivia?" asked Tara.

"I'm happy that I'm no longer pregnant, but I just can't believe that Daniel decided to be stubborn like his father can be sometimes." said Olivia as she started eating what her husband's teammates brought her.

Spencer rolled his eyes at his wife as a nurse entered the room with Daniel allowing Rossi, Tara, and Garcia to take turns holding Daniel while Spencer and Olivia ate their lunch.

"Look at that hair." cooed Garcia as the blonde haired, blue eyed baby boy stared at Garcia before Rossi got to hold Daniel.

"He's a perfect mixture of both his parents, like his oldest sister." said Rossi as he thought about how Piper was a perfect mixture of her parents, Albert being a clone of his father, and Ava being a clone of her mother.

"We know." said Spencer.

Rossi passed Daniel to Tara.

"Even though things didn't work out with Doug, at least I know that I can spoil your kids, Jack, Henry, and Michael." said Tara as she thought about how Jack, Henry, and the Reid children asked her if they could call her aunt Tara.

"Maybe you can help me teach my kids German." said Spencer in German.

"I can help with that." said Tara in German.

* * *

Nearly four hours later Spencer was reading out loud to Olivia and Daniel when there was a knock on the door.

"Is there room for four more?" asked JJ as she peeked her head into the room and smiled when she saw Olivia holding Daniel.

"Come in." said Olivia.

Spencer set down his book, and a few seconds later he was hugging Jack and Henry before accepting hugs from Hotch and JJ before JJ took the opportunity to hold Daniel while Hotch looked at Olivia.

"How are you feeling?" asked Hotch.

"I'm in less pain than I was this morning." said Olivia.

"So do you prefer a C-section or a natural birth?" asked JJ.

"Definitely a natural birth, and if I knew that I was going to be in labor for 22 hours before Dr. Carter decided to perform an emergency C-section, I would have asked to have one much earlier since I couldn't eat or drink anything except let ice cubes in my mouth yesterday." said Olivia.

"I feel for you, Olivia, because when it came to Henry and Michael I couldn't eat or drink anything just in case a C-section was needed." said JJ.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Mind if I talk to you outside?" asked Hotch.

Spencer looked at JJ, who instantly knew what he was going to ask her.

"I will stay with them and help Jack and Henry take turns holding Daniel." said JJ.

A minute later Spencer was in an empty family room, and Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Morgan still hasn't woken up, but the reason why I wanted to talk to you privately is because this morning I talked to Cruz about extending your paternity leave to six weeks because all of us are office bound for a month because of being two agents down for awhile." said Hotch before taking a deep breath, "All of us except Tara are going to be seeing a bureau psychologist, and with you having to do two kill shots in less than 12 hours, you will be required to have additional counseling."

Spencer looked at Hotch as he thought about the logistics of Hotch's reasoning.

"OK." said Spencer.

"The best part is, that the director decided that the psychologist that will be assigned to us will do house calls for you due to you having to adjust to losing sleep again." said Hotch.

"I could take the train to Quantico so I could make my appointments." pointed out Spencer.

"I know, but with Olivia having a C-section I doubt that you will be leaving home a lot unless it's to get groceries and take Piper, Albert, and Ava on outings so they don't feel jealous about Daniel getting all of the attention." said Hotch.

Spencer shook his head as he thought about how well Hotch knows him.

"You're right, and luckily there's a room that I can meet whatever psychologist that will see me while my dad spends time with Piper, Albert, and Ava so they don't interrupt me." said Spencer.

"Your home library?" asked Hotch as he thought about how Spencer also turned that room into his home office just in case he ever had to take work home.

"Yes, and after getting shot in Texas my sponsor met me in that room to see how I was doing." said Spencer as he fiddled with his medallion in the pocket of his jeans.

"Let's get you back to Olivia and Daniel since I haven't had my turn to hold Daniel." said Hotch.

Spencer smiled, and two minutes later Hotch was holding Daniel for the first time when Daniel gripped Hotch's finger, causing Spencer smiled at his boss.

"I guess Daniel has his godfather wrapped around his finger." teased Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"You want me to be Daniel's godfather while I'm already Piper's godfather?" asked Hotch.

"Yes, because Morgan's already godfather to both Albert and Ava so you deserve to be godfather to two of my kids." said Spencer.

"What about godmother?" asked Hotch.

"Emily will be coming to DC in three weeks to help you hold Daniel over the baptismal font." said Spencer.

"I thought that JJ was going to get another turn." said Hotch.

JJ looked at Hotch.

"Garcia and I told Spence that Emily deserves a turn to be godmother to one of the Reid children, and having her be godmother will hopefully convince her to come visit more often." said JJ.

Daniel started whimpering, and as soon as Hotch placed Daniel in Olivia's arms, he instantly quieted as Spencer smirked at his wife.

"You have another mama's boy in your hands." teased Spencer.

"I don't mind that all since you have two extreme daddy's girls." said Olivia before yawning, causing JJ and Hotch to look at their sons.

"We should let uncle Spencer and aunt Olivia get some rest since they didn't get a lot of sleep." said JJ.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"As soon as you three are out of here, want me to take Piper for the night?" asked Hotch.

"Sure." said Spencer.

"What about Albert and Ava?" asked JJ.

"Rossi mentioned taking them in for a night to make things easier for us while we settle in with Daniel." said Olivia.

Spencer hugged Jack and Henry goodbye, and a few minutes later a nurse was taking Daniel back to the nursery while Spencer and Olivia were able to take another nap.

* * *

 _A/N: I cast Spencer Howell from the 2015 movie "Ithaca" as Daniel Jason Reid, and even though the child actor Spencer Howell has straight blonde hair, Daniel will have curly hair like his father, oldest sister, and big brother. Also Morgan and Savannah will meet Daniel in the next chapter._


	19. Going Home and Morgan Meets Daniel

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 for being the 75th reviewer of this story, and also a shout out to OhSnapItsMadison, Chermayne, southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 19._

 _Sorry about the delay for this chapter, I was dealing with intense writers block._

 _Thank you tannerose5 for your suggestion for this chapter, and I thought that Rossi could use some back up because let's just say that even though Albert's a clone of his father, he has his mother's personality and while Ava's a clone of her mother, she has her father's personality._

* * *

Spencer entered his wife's hospital room and smiled when he saw Olivia breastfeeding three day old Daniel for the first time.

"Hey." said Spencer as he gave his wife a peck on the lips before kissing Daniel's forehead, "Finally given the all clear to nurse?"

"Dr. Carter gave me the all clear, so how was your night with the kids?" asked Olivia as she thought about how she kicked her husband out of the hospital and told him to spend the night with the kids.

"Other than helping them pack their bags for when they stay at Hotch's and Rossi's, all three kids ended up sleeping with me last night while they kept on asking me when you and Daniel are coming home." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at her husband.

"Would you mind burping him?" asked Olivia.

"Sure." said Spencer as he grabbed a burp rag and put it over his shoulders before extracting his son from Olivia.

As he worked on burping his son, Olivia looked at her husband.

"When Dr. Carter was here earlier, I found out that Daniel and I are being discharged this afternoon." said Olivia.

Daniel let out a burp, causing both parents to smile.

"That's great." said Spencer as his phone chirped, causing him to pass Daniel to his wife as he answered a call from JJ, "What's up?" asked Spencer softly.

"Morgan finally woke up, and Hotch, Rossi, Tara, and I are on our way to visit him." said JJ.

"That's great." said Spencer causing him to mouth to Olivia, "Morgan's awake."

Olivia grinned at her husband.

"So how are Olivia and DJ doing?" asked JJ.

"They're being discharged this afternoon." said Spencer.

"I will let the others know what's going on, and I will let you get back to spending time with Olivia and DJ." said JJ before hanging up.

* * *

Morgan looked at his teammates.

"Where's Reid?" asked Morgan.

"Daniel was born three days ago by emergency C-section so he's with Olivia and DJ." said Hotch.

"Complications?" asked Morgan.

"Olivia was in labor for over 23 hours before her doctor decided to do a C-section." said Garcia.

"Damn." whistled Morgan before looking at his teammates, "How are Olivia and Daniel?"

"When I talked to Spence an hour ago, he mentioned that they're being discharged today." said JJ.

"Did you guys get to meet Daniel yet?" asked Morgan.

Hotch, JJ, Garcia, Rossi, and Tara all nodded before Morgan looked at his fiancée.

"I haven't yet since I stayed here the entire time." said Savannah.

"Does DJ look like Pretty Boy, Olivia, or a perfect mixture of Pretty Boy and Olivia?" asked Morgan.

JJ looked at Morgan and Savannah.

"Spence ordered us not to describe Daniel or show you two a picture since he wants you to meet him in person." said JJ as she thought about Daniel inheriting Diana's blonde hair and the statistics that Spencer gave about how two brunette parents could have a child with blonde hair.

"Speaking of Reid, I am going to have to thank him for saving my life two times when I was missing." said Morgan.

"What do you mean by two times? He did take the kill shot to save your life." said Hotch.

"Remember a few years ago when he worked hard to find a cure for white phosphorus?" asked Morgan.

"Yes." said Hotch as he thought about the publicity that Spencer received when word got out that his cure saved soldiers lives.

"I'm glad that I listened to him that day because his cure saved my life." said Morgan.

Hotch's phone vibrated, and when he read the text message he ended up smiling.

"Reid just texted me and told me that within the next hour Olivia and Daniel are getting discharged." said Hotch before looking at Morgan, "Since he knows that you're awake Derek, he and Olivia are briefly stopping by with Daniel since you and Savannah are the only two that have yet to meet him." said Hotch.

"Well, I have to get going since I'm taking in Albert and Ava for the night." said Rossi.

"You're really going to deal with the Reid twins who are going through the terrible twos right now?" asked Morgan.

"Spencer paid me with my favorite bottle of scotch for the possible troubles that I will deal with, and I can never refuse the opportunity to have Little Miss Ava Reid sleepover." said Rossi.

"Why can't you refuse the opportunity to have Ava sleepover?" asked Tara.

"When I held Ava for the first time, she instantly caught my heart." said Rossi.

Tara looked at Rossi.

"Mind if I help you out with the twins?" asked Tara.

"You can help me." said Rossi.

"Who's taking Piper?" asked Morgan.

"I am." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Hotch, JJ, Garcia, Rossi, and Tara left Morgan and Savannah alone.

* * *

Over an hour later there was a knock on the door, revealing an escort.

"You have some visitors." said the escort.

"Let them in." said Morgan.

A few seconds later the escort was parking Olivia's wheelchair by Morgan's bed before leaving the room, causing Morgan to look at Spencer who was carrying a car seat.

"Can I hold him?" asked Morgan.

"He's sleeping right now, and we're not going to be here long since you need your rest and I have a long night ahead of me since I'm on Daniel duty tonight before dad goes on Daniel duty tomorrow night." said Spencer as he placed Daniel's car seat on the couch before looking at Morgan, "How are you doing?" asked Spencer.

"I have a long road to recovery, but with having friends and family by my side I will eventually be back to my normal self." said Morgan.

"I understand." said Spencer as he thought about Hankel.

Morgan looked at Olivia who was sitting in a wheelchair.

"How are you doing?" asked Morgan.

"I'm glad that I'm no longer pregnant, but were you told how long I was in labor for before a C-section was done?" asked Olivia.

"I've been told." said Morgan before he heard whimpering from the car seat, causing Spencer to gently extract his son from it, and after getting Daniel out of his snowsuit, he was placing him into Morgan's arms.

"Derek and Savannah, I would like to introduce you two to Daniel Jason Reid." said Spencer as he thought about the conversation he had with Morgan about allowing Hotch have a second turn of being godfather for one of his kids since Morgan was already godfather for Albert and Ava.

Morgan gently moved Daniel's hat and smiled as he recognized the blonde hair before looking at Spencer.

"He has your mother's blonde hair." said Morgan.

"We know, and he also has his mother's blue eyes." said Spencer.

"Daniel has Spencer's nose and chin." said Olivia.

"So a perfect mixture of you two despite having his grandma Diana's blonde hair." said Morgan.

"We're happy with how our final child turned out." said Olivia.

Savannah smiled at the baby boy.

"He's gorgeous." said Savannah before nodding at her fiance.

"At least Daniel will be either meeting his future best friend or future wife this fall." said Morgan.

Spencer stared at Morgan in shock before grinning, causing Savannah to take Daniel from her fiance.

"Congrats man, and with how you are with my kids, Jack, Henry, and Michael your going to be great since Hotch, Rossi, and I will be giving you a lot of advice about being a dad." said Spencer as he gave Morgan a gentle hug before turning to Savannah and smiling at the engagement ring, "I see that the ring I helped Derek pick out suits you well."

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"When it comes to the wedding, I would like you to be my best man, Pretty Boy." said Morgan.

Spencer grinned.

"I would be honored." said Spencer.

Savannah looked at Olivia.

"I would like you to be my matron of honor." said Savannah.

"Why me instead of friends from work?" asked Olivia.

"You gave me helpful advice about being involved with an FBI agent, and when it comes to Derek's best man being married it would make sense that the matron of honor is the best man's wife." said Savannah.

"I will be honored." said Olivia as she took a hold of Savannah's hand and squeezed it before Savannah passed Daniel to his mother.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"I take it that you're going to want your godson to be the ring bearer?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Morgan and Savannah before Savannah looked at Spencer and Olivia.

"When it comes to the flower girl, I would like both Piper and Ava to be flower girls together so Piper doesn't get jealous about not getting a part in the wedding." said Savannah.

Spencer and Olivia smiled at each other as they thought about their three oldest children being part of the wedding party with them.

"Thank you for not leaving Piper out." said Olivia.

"You're welcome." said Savannah.

"So have you two set a date?" asked Spencer.

"The wedding will be on the first Saturday of June because Derek needs time to recover." said Savannah before looking at Olivia, "I take it that before we go shopping for your dress, you want your scar from your C-section to be fully healed while you have time to work off the baby weight that you gained."

"You're right about both things since I really can't be active for six weeks." said Olivia before yawning, "Plus it will help that Daniel's sleeping more though the night before the wedding so Spencer and I can be a bit more rested." said Olivia before grimacing in pain.

Savannah looked at Olivia.

"As a doctor myself, I think you will be more comfortable laying down in bed than sitting in a wheelchair right now." said Savannah.

Spencer looked at his wife who nodded that she was ready to go.

"We will be heading out, but we both wanted to make sure that you two got to meet Daniel before Spencer and I start settling in at home with Daniel without Piper, Albert, and Ava running around the house." said Olivia.

Savannah looked at Olivia as she worked on bundling up Daniel.

"Would you like me to stop by tomorrow and check your incision?" asked Savannah.

"Yes, please." said Olivia.

"Let me walk you guys out." said Savannah as she gently placed Daniel in his car seat and buckled him in.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Want me to stop by with the kids as soon as you're out of here?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, please." said Morgan before looking at Spencer, "Thank you for not shutting up about the cure you created for white phosphorus."

Spencer smiled at his big brother as he thought about when he was told that Morgan used his cure for white phosphorus.

"You're welcome." said Spencer before gripping the handles of his wife's wheelchair and pushed her out of the room while Savannah carried Daniel's car seat.

* * *

An hour and a half later Spencer pulled into the driveway as William came outside.

"I will deal with Daniel while you help Olivia get into the house, and Rossi decided to take Einstein for a couple of days." said William as he worked on getting his youngest grandson out of his son's Prius.

"OK." said Spencer as he helped his wife get out of the back seat.

10 minutes later Olivia was comfortably sitting in her husband's arm chair as Daniel slept peacefully in his bassinet.

"Need anything Olivia?" asked Spencer.

"A cup of tea please." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were both drinking cups of teas while William was working on heating up one of the meals that Rossi brought over so they didn't have to cook for a couple of days.

* * *

Meanwhile at Rossi's mansion, Tara smiled at the sight of Rossi reading to Ava as she played with Albert.

"What does the lion say?" asked Tara as she looked at the little boy who has taken a liking to her when she met the Reid children at Spencer's birthday dinner.

"Rwar." roared Albert before looking up at Tara, "Do you have a broter?" asked Albert.

"I have a younger brother named Gabriel, and my daddy's name is also named Albert who's a mechanic." said Tara.

"I like daddy's old car." said Albert as he thought about the white car in their garage that his daddy rarely drives.

Ava ended up yawning causing Albert to follow suit causing Rossi to look at Tara.

"It's bath time and bedtime for the twins." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Tara was helping Ava go to the bathroom while Rossi was helping Albert go to the bathroom when Tara heard Rossi cursing in Italian and giggles of a two and a half year old boy running in the hallway, causing her to look at Ava.

"I think your brother escaped Papa Dave and decided to streak around the mansion." said Tara.

Ava giggled as she heard Rossi running after Albert.

"Stay where you are while I help Papa Dave catch your brother." said Tara.

Ava giggled again, and two minutes later a laughing Tara was holding a squirming naked Albert.

"Let's get them into the tub." said Tara.

"How about you bathe them while I make a bedtime snack." said Rossi.

"OK." laughed Tara.

A few minutes later Tara was supervising Albert and Ava who were both slashing around in the bathtub while Rossi took charge of making a bedtime snack for the twins.

* * *

A half hour later at Hotch's apartment Hotch was watching a movie with two pajama clad kids when his phone vibrated and he laughed at the text message from Rossi.

DESPITE ALBERT LOOKING SO MUCH LIKE HIS FATHER, HE DEFINITELY HAS HIS MOTHER'S PERSONALITY SINCE HE ESCAPED MY GRASP AND STREAKED AROUND MY MANSION NAKED. ~ DR

"What's so funny?" asked Jack.

"Uncle Dave had to deal with a streaking Albert." said Hotch, causing the 10 year old boy to laugh.

"Albert done that a lot when daddy's away." said Piper

Hotch looked at his goddaughter.

"You have done it too, Piper." said Hotch before his phone vibrated and he saw a text from Spencer.

IS PIPER BEING A GOOD GIRL FOR YOU? I HEARD THAT ALBERT IS BEING NAUGHTY FOR ROSSI. ~ SR

Hotch smiled as he replied.

PIPER'S BEING A GOOD GIRL. SO HOW ARE OLIVIA AND DANIEL DOING? ~ AH

A minute later Hotch's phone vibrated and he smiled at the text message.

BOTH OLIVIA AND DANIEL DOING GOOD DESPITE DANIEL ALREADY URINATING ON ME ONCE, CAUSING ME TO REMEMBER ALL OF THE TIMES THAT ALBERT GOT ME WHEN HE WAS A BABY. PLUS IT'S HELPFUL THAT MY DAD, OLIVIA, AND I ARE SETTLING IN WITH DANIEL WITHOUT PIPER, ALBERT, AVA, AND EINSTEIN RUNNING AROUND AND MAKING A LOT OF NOISE. SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU TAKING IN PIPER FOR ME. ~ SR

Hotch smiled as he replied.

I DON'T MIND TAKING IN MY GODDAUGHTER IN AT ALL SINCE I ENJOY SPENDING TIME WITH HER, AND YOUR DAD MENTIONED THAT PIPER HAS GYMNASTICS TOMORROW SO I WILL TAKE HER FOR YOU. ~ AH

A minute later Spencer replied.

THANK YOU, AND I WILL LET PIPER'S COACH KNOW AHEAD OF TIME THAT YOU'RE BRINGING HER TO GYMNASTICS. ~ SR

A minute later Hotch was pocketing his phone when Piper looked at her godfather.

"I tired." said Piper.

"Then let's get you to the guest bedroom." said Hotch as he scooped up his three and a half year old goddaughter while he realized that he was getting sad about how big his goddaughter was getting since she's turning four in less than four months.

"Can I please sleep with you?" asked Piper as she worked her brown eyes on her godfather while pouting.

"You can sleep with me, but you are so much like your daddy when it comes to begging to get what you want." said Hotch.

Piper giggled as her godfather carried her to his bedroom, and after reading Piper a story, Piper was fast asleep in her godfather's bed, allowing Hotch to spend some time with Jack, and two hours later Hotch was joining his goddaughter in bed.

* * *

Four hours later Spencer was sitting in Daniel's nursery, giving DJ his bottle when he looked at his son who was staring at him.

"I won't be home all the time Daniel, but I always want you to remember that your daddy loves you." said Spencer as he ended up telling his son about his entire family while not knowing that Olivia who woke up to use the bathroom was listening in through the baby monitor letting tears fall as she listened to the father/son talk that Spencer was giving his youngest son.

* * *

 _A/N: I'm also sorry that this chapter is shorter, but I promise that the next chapter will be longer since the chapter will begin when Daniel's six weeks old while including snippets of Morgan's and Savannah's wedding since Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava are all standing up in the wedding._


	20. April 2016 to Mid-June 2016

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, OhSnapItsMadison, and Astrahan for reviewing chapter 19._

 _Sorry about the delay for this chapter, I was dealing with intense writer's block for this chapter._

 _This chapter starts on 04-11-16 when Daniel's six weeks old and will end during Piper's fourth birthday party, and please let me know about what you think about my idea on who Piper's future husband could be._

* * *

Spencer sat down at the kitchen table and Piper looked at her daddy who was dressed for work.

"I don't want you to go back to work daddy." said Piper as she thought back to seeing her uncle Derek hurt.

Spencer sighed sadly as he looked at his six week old son who was in his baby seat before looking at the little girl who will be turning four in two months and one week.

"I can't leave my teammates two agents down since uncle Derek is on leave until September, but let's just say that this August you will start going to school since you're required to start school at four years old." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Piper.

"Yes, and let's just say that Andrea and Brittney from gymnastics will also be attending Georgetown Day School with you." said Spencer as he thought about talking to other parents from gymnastics to find out where they were sending their daughter's to school.

"Yay!" cheered Piper.

Albert looked at his daddy.

"I go too?" asked Albert.

"With Piper going to four year old kindergarten, you and Ava will start pre-school at Georgetown Day School too." said Olivia as she thought about Ava's occupational therapist recommending that Ava starts pre-school so she could work with the school's occupational therapists.

"Yay!" cheered Albert and Ava.

Olivia looked at William.

"Just so you know, I have that job interview today." said Olivia.

"You go to work mommy?" asked Piper.

"With you, Albert, and Ava starting school this fall, grandpa will take care of Daniel since he will be old enough for me to stop being a stay at home mom." said Olivia.

"What are you going to be?" asked Piper.

"A math teacher at Georgetown Day School, and depending on how the interview goes I will be either a calculus teacher or a geometry teacher at Georgetown Day School." said Olivia.

"OK mommy." said Piper before taking another bite of her bacon.

* * *

An hour and 10 minutes later Spencer stepped into the bullpen and shook his head when he noticed his teammates standing around his desk arranging pictures.

"Putting the pictures that I sent during my paternity leave onto my desk?" asked Spencer as he gave his teammates an amused smile, causing him to be given hugs by JJ, Tara, Garcia, and in Rossi's case kisses on both cheeks.

"You're here earlier than I expected." said Hotch as he gave his youngest agent a hug.

"Livy has that job interview that should have started by now, and we decided to leave the house at the same time." said Spencer.

"So which position is Olivia hoping to get?" asked Rossi.

"She's hoping to teach calculus, but she will be happy if she ends up teaching geometry." said Spencer.

"Makes sense that Olivia starts thinking about work since Piper, Albert, and Ava will all be starting school in August while your dad takes care of DJ." said JJ.

"So how's the little guy?" asked Rossi.

Spencer smiled as he pulled out his phone and showed Hotch, JJ, Rossi, Tara, and Garcia.

"He cried when Olivia and I were leaving home, but as soon as Piper picked up one of her books and started reading, he stopped crying." said Spencer as he showed his teammates the picture that he took.

"Dealing with separation anxiety yet?" asked JJ.

"I am, but I'm glad that Simmons gave me advice when he stopped by yesterday since he understands what it's like to have four kids." said Spencer as he looked at the pictures from Emily's brief visit to attend DJ's Christening as godmother.

A few minutes later Spencer was at his desk getting started on his consults, and after working on his consults for two and a half hours he heard JJ speak.

"Hey Olivia." said JJ.

Spencer put down his pen, and a few seconds later he was standing up and looking at his wife who kept a neutral face.

"So how was the interview?" asked Spencer as he noticed Hotch and Rossi coming out of their offices and Garcia coming into the bullpen.

"Look at Georgetown Day School's new calculus teacher." grinned Olivia.

Spencer's face broke into a huge grin before he lifted up his wife and twirled her a bit before kissing her on the lips while ignoring the wolf whistles from some of the male agents who were watching the scene, and as soon as Spencer broke out of the kiss he smiled at his wife.

"I knew that you could do it Livy." said Spencer as he gave Olivia one more hug before his teammates took the chance to congratulate his wife.

"So how are you doing?" asked JJ.

"I'm glad that I'm able to resume normal activities since I got the all clear at my check up on Friday." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "Well I will let you get back to work since I'm going to head home to the kids, but you know the drill if you have a case."

"I will call you if I have a case, but let me walk you out." said Spencer as he took hold of his wife's hand before looking at his team, "I will be back soon."

10 minutes later Spencer was back at his desk working on his consults while praying that he would get to go home at 5 PM while arranging a weekend get away for him and Olivia to celebrate Olivia's new job.

* * *

Four days later Spencer smiled when he pulled into the parking lot of the bed and breakfast that they spent the weekend of their one year wedding anniversary in, and as soon as Spencer removed the blindfold that he put on Olivia, he grinned when she gasped.

"We're here for the weekend to celebrate your new job." said Spencer.

"And to celebrate me getting the all clear without having a crying seven week old or a three year old and two year old twins interrupting us?" asked a smirking Olivia.

Spencer nodded as he blushed a bit.

"It's OK Spencer, since I was hoping that we could have a weekend get away, and when you were at work I make sure to pump enough milk to help your father out." said Olivia.

10 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were in their room undressing each other before falling onto the king size bed.

* * *

The next Monday, Spencer sat down at his desk and JJ looked at him.

"So how was your weekend get away with Olivia?" asked JJ.

"We had a great time, but when we got home, we were happy to be with the kids again especially since Daniel gave his first real smile that didn't deal with gas." said Spencer as he ended up showing JJ and Tara a picture of his youngest son.

"Gas?" asked Tara.

Spencer and JJ started recounting Henry's first visit to the BAU, and when they were finished all three adults were laughing until a mail courier came over to them.

"Here's today mail." said the courier as he passed the mail to Spencer, JJ, and Tara before walking away.

Spencer opened up one of his mail and read the letter before looking at JJ and Tara.

"Cat Adams and her bomber friend were executed last night." said Spencer.

* * *

Two weeks later Olivia was sitting in the driver's seat of her SUV, and looked at Piper who was dressed for gymnastics through the rear view mirror before focusing on the road.

"Even though your fourth birthday isn't for another one and a half months, is there anything special you want?" asked Olivia.

Piper thought about it.

"Please don't tell daddy this, but I don't want any new toys at all." said Piper.

"Why?" asked Olivia.

"I want friends and family to donate money to help cure Alzheimer's and dementia." said Piper as she pronounced Alzheimer's and dementia correctly.

"You want donations made to the Alzheimer's Association because of grandma Diana?" asked Olivia as she removed a hand from the steering wheel and wiped a tear.

"Yes mommy." said Piper as she looked at her baby brother's car seat and noticed that her two month old brother was awake.

"I think I can find a way to make sure that daddy doesn't find out, so I promise not to say a word to daddy." said Olivia.

"Do you know when daddy's coming home?" asked Piper.

"When I talked to him earlier, he said that he will be home in time for dinner." said Olivia as she pulled into the parking lot, and a few minutes later Piper was running towards her friends while Olivia sat down by other parents who instantly started cooing over Daniel.

"Spencer on a case?" asked Maeve as she watched Andrea talk to Piper.

"He's flying back from Bismark right now, but I want to tell you about what Piper told me on the way here." said Olivia as she adjusted Daniel in her arms as other mothers and grandmothers leaned in so they could hear.

"What did she say?" asked Maeve.

"With Piper turning four in one and a half months, I asked her if there's anything special she wanted for her birthday." said Olivia.

"Did she say what she wanted?" asked Maeve.

"You ladies know that Spencer's mom got diagnosed with Alzheimer's and dementia last November causing play dates to be put on hold since William, the kids, and I headed to Vegas with Spencer so he wouldn't have to deal with his mom alone?" asked Olivia.

Every woman nodded before Olivia started explaining what Piper wanted for her birthday, and when she was finished all the mothers and grandmothers who were listening were tearing up at Piper's thoughtfulness.

"She's so wise for her age." said one of the grandmothers as she wiped her tears.

"She's so much like her father when it comes to wanting to help people, and I actually love Piper's idea. And knowing Spencer's teammates, they would definitely love Piper's idea." said Olivia.

"I'm in." said Maeve causing other mothers and grandmothers to nod in agreement before they decided to focus on watching their sons, daughters, or grandchildren practice their gymnastics.

* * *

Later that evening, Piper ran into the house and grinned when she saw her daddy hugging and kissing Albert and Ava, so as soon as Spencer released the nearly three year old twins, Piper was hugging her daddy.

"I missed you daddy." said Piper.

"I missed you too, Goober." said Spencer just before he heard his two month old son whimpering.

"I think someone missed his daddy." said Olivia as she briefly kissed her husband on the lips before passing Daniel to his daddy.

"You missed me?" asked Spencer as he smiled at his two month old son.

Daniel smiled at his daddy before he started gurgling.

"I missed you too buddy, and tonight I will be waking up to feed you, burp you, and change your diaper so mommy can take the night off." said Spencer.

William stepped out of the kitchen and looked at the family of six.

"Dinner is done." said William.

Five minutes later Daniel was in his baby swing while Spencer, Olivia, William, Piper, Albert, and Ava sat around the dining room table eating their dinner and Spencer listened to his three oldest talk about what they did during the week that Spencer was away.

* * *

The next day, Spencer was working on consults when his phone rang and raised his eyebrows when he saw that it was Diana's nurse.

"Is my mom OK?" asked Spencer as he missed the slight smiles on JJ's and Tara's faces.

"She's dealing with a violent schizophrenic episode right now, and I talked to Olivia who mentioned that you came home last night so I was hoping that you could see if you can leave work and help your mother calm down in person." said Nurse Cassie.

"I will be there as soon as I can." said Spencer before hanging up before rushing off to Hotch's office.

"Is everything OK?" asked Hotch as he thought about Olivia's plan to get Spencer out of the office.

"My mom's dealing with a violent episode right now, and her nurse is hoping that I could head to the hospital and help calm her down." said Spencer.

"Since we're on paperwork duty this week, you can take the rest of the day off." said Hotch.

"Thanks." said Spencer before rushing out of Hotch's office.

As soon as Spencer was in the elevators, JJ sent a text to Olivia.

SPENCER'S LEAVING NOW, SO COME TO THE BAU SO YOU CAN TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON. ~ JJ

* * *

Spencer rushed into his mother's room, and he looked at his smirking mother in shock.

"I thought that you were dealing with an episode." said Spencer.

"It was a ruse to get you here since Olivia wanted us to have some bonding time, and when I talked to your boss he was willing to give you the rest of the day off since I always wanted to go down to Williamsburg." said Diana as Nurse Cassie entered the room.

"You ready Diana?" asked Nurse Cassie.

"Yes." said Diana.

10 minutes later Spencer was helping his mom get into the front passenger seat of his Prius and started the road trip to Williamsburg.

* * *

10 minutes later in Quantico, VA, Olivia looked at her husband's teammates including Morgan, Emily, and Alex who were all video conferencing in while Piper sat on Hotch's lap, Ava sat on Rossi's lap, Albert sat on Garcia's lap, and Daniel was in JJ's arms just as Cruz entered the room.

"Sorry I'm late." said Cruz as he thought about Hotch telling him about Olivia's request to have a meeting with everyone without Spencer in the room.

"It's OK, and Diana's nurse texted me five minutes ago and told me that Spencer and his mom left for Williamsburg 10 minutes ago." said Olivia.

"So why did you arrange this meeting without Spencer knowing?" asked Rossi.

Olivia looked at her oldest daughter.

"Do you want to tell everyone or should I?" asked Olivia.

"You, mommy." said Piper.

Olivia started explaining what Piper wanted for her fourth birthday, and after explaining she noticed the tears streaming down JJ's, Emily, Alex, and Garcia's faces.

"So are you guys in?" asked Olivia.

"I'm definitely in since Spencer refused my offer to put money towards Diana's medical care." said Rossi, causing everyone including Cruz to state that they were in.

"I know that if I tell Monty what's going on, he's going to let the rest of the International Response Team know what's going on." said Garcia, causing everyone to mention who they should contact.

* * *

Nearly five weeks later Spencer and Olivia both allowed happy tears stream down their eyes as they watched Albert and Ava blow out their candles together while of their guests clapped and cheered.

"I just can't believe that they're finally three years old." said Olivia as she adjusted her three month old son in her arms.

"Me neither, but at least we get to enjoy DJ being a baby for now." said Spencer as he made faces at his three month old son, causing DJ to laugh for the first time.

"His first laugh." said Olivia as more tears streamed down her face.

"I know." said Spencer as he took his youngest son from his wife so she could help cut the cake.

* * *

Later that week Spencer, Morgan, Hotch, and Rossi sat in the Reid family living room with Albert on his godfather's lap wen Morgan looked at Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi.

"Since you three have dealt with marriages, can you guys please give me advice?" asked Morgan.

Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Not every marriage is perfect since there will be both good days and bad days, but remember that the good times will always outweigh the bad times like it did for me." said Spencer.

"Give me some examples of bad days that you and Olivia had to deal with." said Morgan.

"Piper's Kawasaki Disease episode, the Replicator stalking us, the time I got shot in the neck, Olivia's ectopic pregnancy, and my mom getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Dementia." said Spencer before Hotch and Rossi started giving Morgan advice on marriage while Rossi censored himself due to a three year old little boy being in the room.

* * *

The next afternoon Spencer straightened his bow tie before looking at Morgan.

"Ready to be a married man in less than an hour?" asked Spencer.

"I am." said Morgan.

"At least my dates for this wedding are the matron of honor and the two flower girls." said Spencer.

Morgan looked at his three year old godson who was a spitting image of his father when it came to their tuxedos and glasses despite Albert's brown curly hair being a bit shorter than his father's.

"Ready to be the ring bearer?" asked Morgan.

"Yes uncle Derek." said Albert.

Morgan gave Albert a high five and Spencer smirked at his brother.

"With how great you are with my four kids, you're going to be a good dad when your son or daughter is born this fall." said Spencer.

At that moment there was a knock on the door, and Fran popped her head in and she smiled at Albert.

"You look handsome Albert." said Fran as she stepped into the room with her two daughters who were holding Piper's and Ava's hands.

"Thank you." said Albert sweetly.

"Everyone's here so we're going to get started." said Fran.

Spencer looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"I will be waiting at the alter with uncle Derek, so I will be seeing you three soon." said Spencer as he gave his three oldest quick hugs and kisses before he looped arms with Sarah and Desiree and escorted them down the aisle before Morgan escorted his mother to her seat.

A few minutes later Spencer smiled at his wife who was wearing a light pink cocktail length dress with her long light brown hair pulled into a curly ponytail.

"You look beautiful, Livy." mouthed Spencer as he smiled at his wife.

"You look handsome, Doc." mouthed Olivia as she blew a kiss at her husband before taking her place while Spencer noticed his teammates who weren't in the wedding party smiling from their spots.

A minute later Spencer and Olivia were grinning when they saw Albert carefully making his way down the aisle while carrying a pillow that contained two wedding bands, and as soon as Albert reached his dad and handed him the pillow, Spencer and Morgan both gave Albert high fives before Albert held his father's hand.

A few seconds later Spencer's grin widened when he saw Piper and Ava who were both wearing matching white dresses and tiaras make their way down the aisle together while scattering flowers on the grass in Rossi's backyard make their way to their daddy and uncle Derek and gave both men and their mommy hugs before heading towards their grandpa who was sitting with Daniel.

A minute later Spencer looked at Morgan who was watching Savannah walk down with her father.

"Breathe, man." whispered Spencer.

* * *

A couple of hours later Spencer took the microphone and looked at everyone in the audience.

"I met Derek when I joined the BAU at 22, and let's just say that we had a rocky start as coworkers before we formed the strong brotherly bond that we have now." said Spencer causing some laughter before he continued, "As someone who said "I do" four years, eight months, and 11 days ago, I'm finally happy that Derek finally got to say "I do" to the woman he loves despite having to deal with a lot of single woman mourning today since Derek was known as a ladies man before Savannah came along to calm him down." said Spencer, causing laughter from Tara, Hotch, and Rossi since they remembered that comment before Spencer looked at his brother and Savannah, "May you have many happy years with Savannah like I had with Olivia for the past five years, and I can't wait to spoil your little one since you two have spoiled my four kids."

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer and Olivia were on the dance floor, and Olivia laughed when Spencer twirled her before dipping her.

After ending up in her husband's arms again, a laughing Olivia looked into her husband's twinkling brown eyes.

"Showing off, Spencer?" asked Olivia.

"My date for the wedding is the most beautiful matron of honor, and I still owe my two other dates a dance as soon as we're done dancing to this song." said Spencer as he looked at his two little girls who were dancing with Hotch.

"That reminds me that I have to dance with my two other dates." said Olivia as she watched Garcia dance with Albert and Daniel.

As soon as the song was over, Spencer went over to Hotch, Piper, and Ava and knelt down to his daughters eye levels.

"Will the two most beautiful little girls be honored to dance with their daddy?" asked Spencer as he held out his hands for his daughters.

Piper and Ava looked at each other and grinned before they took their daddy's hands, and 20 seconds later Spencer was dancing with his two little girls while Olivia danced with her two little boys and Garcia, Tara, and JJ were all filming the moment.

"That's the cutest scene." cooed Garcia as she watched Spencer twirl dance his nearly four year old daughter and her three year old sister.

"Just imagine the dance he will be sharing with Piper and Ava on their wedding days." said Tara.

Hotch made his way over and smiled at the scene of Spencer twirling his giggling daughters.

"I'm not looking forward to that day of Piper marrying the man she falls in love with." said Hotch as the song ended and Spencer gave both of his daughters kisses on their cheeks.

Piper looked at her daddy.

"We dance again?" asked Piper.

"Sure." said Spencer just as Henry came over and looked at Piper.

"May I please dance with you Piper?" asked the seven year old boy.

Piper looked at her daddy.

"Can I daddy?" asked Piper.

"Go ahead." said Spencer before looking at Ava, "Let's go get something to drink." said Spencer as he scooped up his three year old daughter and headed towards Olivia who was standing with Albert, Daniel, Garcia, and JJ as they watched Henry dance with the nearly four year old little girl.

"What do you think about my goddaughter ending up as Mrs. Piper LaMontagne in about 20 years?" asked JJ.

Garcia grinned at JJ before looking at Spencer and Olivia.

"I love the idea of Henry becoming Piper's future husband." cooed Garcia.

Spencer looked at Piper and Henry and smiled as he watched Henry twirl a giggling Piper.

"Maybe I can approve Henry becoming my future son in law." said Spencer.

* * *

Two weeks later Spencer smiled at his four year old daughter who was wearing a swimsuit since Piper asked to have a pool party and a water balloon fight, causing Spencer and Olivia to buy an inflatable wading pool and a lot of water balloons that Andrew helped him fill the evening before.

"Ready for your big birthday party today?" asked Spencer.

"When is everyone arriving?" asked Piper as she thought about her friends from gymnastics, her daddy's teammates, Savannah, Jack, Henry, and Michael who were all going to be at her party.

"They will be coming in an hour." said Olivia before looking at her husband who was already wearing a Cal-tech t-shirt and khaki shorts, "You should go pick up your mom, and here's a list of last minute things that I need you to pick up while I let our guests in." said Olivia as she handed her husband a list.

"I will be back as soon as I can." said Spencer as he grabbed his car keys and wallet before heading out the door.

* * *

An hour later Spencer smiled when he watched Piper, Albert, and Ava hug their grandma before Spencer laid his eyes on the table that he set up for presents.

"Where are all the presents?" asked Spencer.

Olivia looked at her husband.

"I guess we will do presents first before that water balloon fight happens." said Olivia as she passed almost four month Daniel to Spencer before heading into the house and a minute later she came out with a gift bag full of cards, "You know how secretive your teammates and I have been lately?"

"Yes." said Spencer.

Piper looked at her daddy.

"What I want for my birthday is in those cards, and I want you to help me open them daddy." said Piper.

"OK." said Spencer as he passed Daniel back to Olivia.

A minute later the Reid family, Spencer's teammates, Will, Savannah, Piper's friends from gymnastics, and parents of Piper's friends anxiously watched Spencer and Piper each open a card and Spencer's eyes went wide when he saw a $2,000 check from Rossi that was written to the Alzheimer's Association while noticing that a card that Piper opened contained a check for $50 for the Alzheimer's Association.

"You asked for donations to be made to the Alzheimer's Association instead of new toys?" asked Spencer as he started to tear up.

"Yes daddy." said Piper as she climbed onto her daddy's lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulders and he hugged her back as tears fell down his face while not even realizing that Olivia, JJ, and Garcia were taking pictures.

As soon as Spencer released Piper, Piper looked at him.

"Am I in trouble?" asked Piper causing laughter from everyone.

"You're not Goober, since this is one of the most thoughtful things you have ever done, and all of this money will help a lot of adults who are suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia like grandma Diana." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Don't be surprised if you see cards from members from other teams that we have worked with in the past because Piper's idea led us to pass the hat around." said Hotch.

"Well let's open them before I change for the water balloon fight." said Spencer.

For the next 20 minutes Spencer and Piper were opening up cards that contained either cash donations or checks written by agents from the Red Cell team, International Response team, Andi Swans team, Katie Cole's team, Jordan Todd, agents from other units that he worked with in the past, the Director of the FBI, and John with mentions of Diana Reid in the cards, and when they were finished opening up cards, Spencer quickly did the math and looked at Piper.

"You want to know the grand total of all of these cash and check donations?" asked Spencer as he wiped a tear that was falling down his own face.

"Yes, daddy." said Piper.

"Your request brought a grand total of $200,500." said Spencer causing gasps from everyone.

"That's a lot." said Piper before looking at her daddy, "Can we please have that water balloon fight right now?"

"We can, and Monday after work I will take you to where we have to take all of this money to." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at her husband.

"How about you go change into your swim trunks while I help lather sun block onto the kids." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer.

15 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were smiling as they watched Piper have a water balloon fight with her friends, Jack, Henry, Albert, and Ava.

"I just can't believe that my first father's day present is finally four years old." said Spencer as he thought back to all the memories he had with Piper.

"Me neither." said Olivia as she kissed DJ's cheek.

At that moment Spencer felt a water balloon hit him, and looked at a giggling Piper.

"Join us daddy." said Piper.

Spencer shook his head as he joined in on the water balloon fight with Piper.


	21. First Day of School

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, OhSnapItsMadison, and Chermayne for reviewing chapter 20._

 _Even though Georgetown Day School in Washington DC doesn't require uniforms, I'm going to have it that uniforms are required in the lower school where Piper, Albert, and Ava are now attending and in the upper level school where Olivia's teaching calculus._

 _Piper goes to all day kindergarten while Albert and Ava will only go to preschool in the morning while being at home in the afternoon._

 _I'm sorry about the delay for this chapter since I was dealing with writer's block because I wanted to write a scene that deals with one of Olivia's classes and Spencer getting two surprises at work._

* * *

Olivia looked at her three oldest babies who were dressed in their school uniforms of blue plaid dresses and white short sleeved blouses for Piper and Ava while Albert wore khaki shorts, a white short sleeved shirt, a navy blue tie, and a navy blue sweater vest.

"I arranged it that I have prep first hour every day since I will be taking you three to school." said Olivia.

Piper, who had her light brown curly long hair pulled into two fishtail braids, looked at her daddy.

"What about you daddy?" asked Piper.

"I'm coming with you three to school since I can't miss your first day, but then I have to go to work." said Spencer.

"OK." said Piper before taking a bite of her pancakes.

* * *

Spencer and Olivia entered Piper's classroom and Piper's teacher Mrs. Turner smiled when she recognized Piper.

"You're the first one here today Piper." said Mrs. Turner before looking at Spencer and Olivia, "Other than knowing that Piper is a genius, is there anything else that I should know about her?"

Spencer showed Mrs. Turner his badge.

"There will be times that there will be a possible FBI security detail here to protect Piper and her siblings since I have gained enemies in my line of work." said Spencer.

Mrs. Turner studied Spencer's badge before looking at Spencer.

"No need to worry Dr. Reid, because I have dealt with kids who have parents who work for the government just like you." said Mrs. Turner before noticing Piper's socks, "Mismatched socks?"

Olivia giggled, causing Spencer to pull up both of his pant legs a bit causing Mrs. Turner to raise her eyebrows at the sight of Spencer's mismatched socks.

"Wearing mismatched socks bring me good luck, and ever since she was a baby I was mismatching her socks causing that habit to stick, and the principal already approved Piper, Albert, and Ava wearing mismatched socks as long as their socks are either white or navy blue." said Spencer.

"I get what you say about mismatched socks." said Mrs. Turner as she lifted up the legs of her dress pants to show mismatched socks, causing Olivia to roll her eyes.

Spencer looked around the classroom for his oldest and saw her playing in the kitchen area.

"Come here Piper." said Spencer.

Piper ran towards her mommy and daddy.

"No practicing your gymnastics while at school since you don't have shorts on underneath your dress." said Olivia firmly.

"Yes mommy." said Piper.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"You have fun today Goober, and if I am home tonight I want to hear about how much fun you had today." said Spencer as he scooped up his oldest daughter and gave her a big hug.

"OK daddy." said Piper before giving her daddy a kiss on the cheek.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were leaving the school, and when they reached their vehicles Spencer looked at his wife who was crying.

"We both knew that eventually our kids would have to start school, but I can't believe that our three oldest are no longer babies." cried Olivia.

Spencer pulled Olivia into a hug.

"I'm sad too that our three oldest are now going to school, but we have time to enjoy our kids being this young before they become teenagers." said Spencer before looking at his watch, "Hotch, JJ, and I were all given permission to show up a few minutes late so I really have to get going."

"Call me if you get a case, and I will let my students know that I will always have my phone on because of you." said Olivia as she gave Spencer a kiss.

A minute later Spencer was in his Toyota Prius pulling out the first picture of him, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava together before starting his car.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer was going through security, and before he knew it he was in an elevator with Hotch and JJ when Hotch looked at his youngest agent.

"It will get easier to send your kids to school." said Hotch.

"I hope so too, and Olivia was crying when we were leaving the school." said Spencer

"I was like that with Henry too, but how did Piper, Albert, and Ava take it with being left at school?" asked JJ.

"They took it well, and Albert and Ava are only attending preschool in the mornings while Piper goes to all day kindergarten." said Spencer.

"Have any first day of school pictures?" asked Hotch.

"I do, and I want to show everyone at once and I already sent Morgan a picture." said Spencer.

"At least Morgan will be back next week." said Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer, Hotch, and JJ were at the coffee pot with Rossi, Tara, and Garcia when Garcia looked at the three parents.

"I hope you three have first day of school pictures to show me." said Garcia.

JJ and Hotch showed pictures of Jack and Henry before Spencer showed a picture of Piper, Albert, and Ava smiling proudly in their school uniforms.

"Their uniforms are cute." said Tara.

Garcia looked at Spencer.

"I can't believe that Piper and Ava can't wear all those cute dresses that I bought for them to school since Georgetown Day School requires uniforms." said Garcia.

"Piper and Ava can wear the dresses you bought for them outside of school, and luckily Albert and Ava will only attend pre-school in the morning while Piper attends all day kindergarten." said Spencer.

* * *

30 minutes later in Washington DC, Olivia looked at her first class of the day as she perched herself on her desk in front of her classroom taking in the 16 year old or 17 year old kids who were all wearing their school uniforms.

"Since I included my bio in my syllabus for this school year, is there anything you want to know about me that I didn't include?" asked Olivia.

"What does your husband do for work?" asked Jasper.

"My husband works at the Marine Corpse Base in Quantico, Virginia." said Olivia.

"He's in the Marines?" asked an awe struck Joshua as he thought about his own father.

"He's not a Marine, but what other place of employment is on the same base?" asked Olivia.

"The FBI." said Samantha.

Olivia nodded.

"My husband is a profiler for the Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia. He's also a genius like me, but he has an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and a timed reading speed of 20,000 words a minute causing the FBI to waive the age requirement for him when he was 21 and this October he will be celebrating 13 years as an agent since he joined the BAU shortly after his 22nd birthday." said Olivia.

"Damn." muttered Trevor.

Olivia looked at Trevor as she grabbed a jar from her desk. 25 cents

"I don't tolerate swearing at all especially since my husband and I had to deal with our three oldest swearing so whenever one of you guys swear that's a quarter in the swear jar." said Olivia.

"What will you do with the money?" asked Trevor as he put a quarter into the jar.

"At the end of the school year, I will donate this money to the Alzheimer's Association." said Olivia.

"Why the Alzheimer's Association?" asked Anna.

Olivia sighed sadly.

"My mother in law has Alzheimer's and dementia," said Olivia before smiling at a memory, "When my husband and I celebrated Piper turning four two months ago, Piper requested donations to be made to the Alzheimer's Association instead of new toys. Spencer's teammates getting involved since they ended up passing the hat around to other units that have worked with my husband while I told mothers and grandparents of Piper's friends from gymnastics who all decided to be included in making donations." said Olivia before taking a deep breath, "After Spencer helped Piper open up all of her birthday cards, he ended up counting a grand total of $200,500 to be donated to the Alzheimer's Association."

"That's so sweet." said Anna.

"Damn." said Trevor, Jasper, and Joshua all at once, causing Olivia to grab the jar and causing all three boys to put money in the jar.

"$5?" asked Olivia as she raised her eyebrows at Joshua.

"I have a grandparent with Alzheimer's so be prepared for me being a potty mouth for a good cause." said Joshua, causing some laughter while Olivia shook her head and thought about how glad she was to be teaching again.

"Can we see a picture of your husband and his team?" asked Trevor.

"Sure." said Olivia as she used her laptop and pulled up a photo onto the smart board, causing her students to look at a picture that contained four men and three women, "Can any of you figure out which one is my husband?"

Olivia's class of 16 students looked at the professional photo of Spencer's team before Jasper noticed the youngest man in the picture who was wearing a fitted suit and had a wedding band on his left ring finger.

"Is that your husband?" asked Jasper,

Olivia looked at the photo and nodded.

"That's him, and you guys might have seen him on TV since he would give the profile to the press on national television since he travels all over the country to do a psychological profile and apprehend serial killers." said Olivia.

"Can we see a picture of your kids?" asked Amanda.

"You sure can." said Olivia as she pulled up a picture of her, Spencer, Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel at Morgan's wedding, "This picture was taken over the summer because Piper, Albert, Ava, Spencer, and I all stood up in Spencer's best friend's wedding." said Olivia as she pointed at which child is which.

"Why does Daniel have blonde hair instead of brown like you, your husband, and the rest of your kids?" asked Samantha.

"My mother in law has blonde hair, and Spencer and I both knew the statistics of the possibility of one of our kids having blonde hair." said Olivia before she decided to get class started, "Let's play a game to make sure that you guys aren't rusty from summer break so get some paper and pencils out before I divide you into teams." said Olivia as she pulled up a Jeopardy game that she created on Power Point.

* * *

An hour later Piper was on the playground with Andrea and Brittney, and Piper looked at Andrea and Brittney.

"Want to see me do a back handspring?" asked Piper.

Brittney and Andrea looked at Piper.

"What about boys seeing your underwear?" asked Brittney.

Piper shrugged before doing a series of back handsprings, causing her classmates to look at Piper while a few boys were laughing when they saw Piper's underwear.

"I see London. I see France. I see Piper's underpants." shouted a boy named Kevin, causing laughter from a bunch of kindergarteners while Mrs. Turner made her way over to Piper.

"Piper Ann Reid, I thought that your parents told you not to practice your gymnastics at school." said Mrs. Turner as she fixed Piper's dress.

"Sorry." said Piper before looking at her teacher, "Are you going to tell my mommy and daddy?"

"I will let it slide this time, but if you do it again I will have to let them know." said Mrs. Turner before smiling at Piper, "I did gymnastics for a couple of years as a child, and it's better to practice in the gym you go to since its a controlled environment where professionals are observing you."

"OK." said Piper.

"You're really good at it." said Mrs. Turner.

"I want to be like Gabby Douglas, and Andrea and Brittney are in gymnastics like me." said Piper.

Mrs. Tuner looked at Piper, Andrea, and Brittney.

"Well, hopefully you three will let other kids play with you at recess." said Mrs. Turner just as the bell rang.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at his desk when he heard two familiar voices.

"Daddy!" cried Albert and Ava as they ran to their daddy.

Spencer spun his chair around and less than a minute later he had Albert and Ava on his lap while William made his way towards them with Daniel in his stroller.

"You two wanted to visit me since you're done with school for the day?" asked Spencer.

Albert and Ava nodded as Spencer looked towards his youngest son, causing William to look at his son.

"Daniel's sleeping right now." said William.

"Then I won't disturb my youngest." said Spencer.

JJ looked at Ava who was still in her uniform.

"You look beautiful in your uniform, Ava." said JJ.

"Thank you." said Ava.

JJ looked at Albert.

"You look handsome in your uniform." said JJ.

"Thank you." said Albert sweetly.

"Here comes auntie Penelope." said JJ, causing Albert and Ava to grin as they jumped off their daddy's lap.

"I thought that the Reid twins arrived with their baby brother." said Garcia as she made a beeline for the two middle Reid children.

"DJ's sleeping right now Garcia." said Spencer as he watched Albert and Ava hug their godmother before Spencer heard his nearly six month old son start babbling away, causing Spencer to extract his youngest from his stroller, "Hey there little man." said Spencer as he gave Daniel a kiss on the forehead, "I bet you are missing mommy while having fun with grandpa." said Spencer as William nodded.

"He really cried when you and Olivia left the house with Piper, Albert, and Ava and he quieted when I mentioned the idea of bringing him to visit you at lunch time." said William as Daniel started babbling away.

"Then I appreciate you guys coming to visit me." said Spencer as he nodded along to his youngest son babbling.

Albert's stomach growled, causing Spencer's stomach to let out a loud growl, causing the nearly six month old baby boy to start laughing.

"It's definitely lunchtime, and how about we go out to eat." said Spencer just as Hotch came down the stairs with Rossi causing him to look at his unit chief, "Mind if I sneak away for an hour to go out to eat so I can hear about Albert and Ava's first day of preschool?" asked Spencer

"Go ahead." said Hotch as he watched Rossi greet Albert and Ava before he took a turn to greet them.

* * *

Olivia entered Piper's classroom and smiled when she saw Piper sitting at her desk, coloring away.

"Hi there sweet pea." said Olivia.

Piper looked up from her desk and grinned.

"Mommy!" cried Piper as she got up from her chair and ran to her mommy who scooped her up.

"Did you have fun?" asked Olivia.

"I did, and I make friends." said Piper.

"That's great." said Olivia before looking at Mrs. Turner who was packing up, "I appreciate you for agreeing to stay here a bit longer with Piper until I can leave the upper school, and when there's a meeting Piper's grandpa will be picking her up."

"Not a problem, and Piper's very bright for her age." said Mrs. Turner.

"We don't want Piper to skip any grades yet, and luckily with being the calculus teacher at the upper school I won't have a problem with creating a lesson plan for her." said Olivia.

"I can't send Piper for an IQ test until she's five, and I ended up talking to a second grade teacher who's willing to help challenge her." said Mrs. Turner.

"Thank you." said Olivia before looking at Piper, "Ready to go home and start dinner?"

"Is daddy coming home tonight?" asked Piper.

"He hasn't left for a case, so he's coming home tonight." said Olivia.

"Can we go visit daddy at work?" asked Piper.

"We sure can, and maybe you can ask your godfather if daddy can leave work early so we can go out for pizza." said Olivia.

"Yay!" cheered Piper before looking at her teacher, "Bye."

"See you tomorrow Piper." smiled Mrs. Turner.

* * *

An hour later in Quantico, Virginia Spencer was working on his second to last consult when he heard a familiar voice.

"Daddy!" cried Piper.

Spencer grinned as he turned his chair around, causing him to see Piper running towards him with Olivia trailing behind.

"Well this is the second best surprise today." said Spencer as he lifted Piper onto his lap.

"Second best?" asked Piper as she wrapped her arms around her daddy's neck.

"Grandpa came here with Albert, Ava, and Daniel after picking up Albert and Ava from school." said Spencer.

"Oh." said Piper before grinning at her godmother, Garcia, and Tara, "Hi auntie JJ. Hi auntie Penny. Hi auntie Tara." said Piper as she gave all three women a hug.

"How was your very first day of kindergarten?" asked JJ.

"Fun, and I make friends." said Piper.

"Made friends." corrected Spencer as he thought about how he and Olivia started correcting Piper on her grammar.

Piper looked at her daddy.

"Andrea and Brittney is in the same class as me." said Piper.

"That's great Goober." said Spencer.

"We go see uncle Aaron?" asked Piper.

"We sure can." said Spencer as he got up.

"May I please have a piggy back ride?" asked Piper.

"You sure can." said Spencer causing Olivia to help get Piper onto his back.

"I will stay here." said Olivia as she gave Spencer a peck on the lips.

"OK." said Spencer as he headed towards the stairs with Piper on his back, and less than a minute later he was knocking on Hotch's open door.

"Come in." said Hotch as he didn't look up from the file he was working on.

"Someone wanted to say hi to you." said Spencer.

Hotch looked up and smiled when he saw Piper on her daddy's back.

"Decided to surprise your daddy like Albert and Ava did?" asked Hotch.

"Yep." said Piper as she popped the P while her daddy got her down.

"How was school?" asked Hotch as he took in the sight of his goddaughter wearing her school uniform as he thought about the picture that Spencer showed him earlier in the day.

"I made friends." said Piper.

"That's great." said Hotch as he thought about how nervous Spencer was about sending his kids to school.

Piper looked at her godfather.

"Can daddy go home early so we can go get pizza like mommy promise?" asked Piper as she started to work her big brown eyes on her godfather while pouting at him, "Please."

Hotch shook his head at Piper's antics before looking at his youngest agent who was holding back his laughter.

"Your daddy can leave early." said Hotch.

"Yay!" shouted Piper as she ran out of her godfather's office and hurried down the stairs towards her mother while Hotch looked at Spencer.

"She's definitely becoming a master manipulator." said Hotch as he thought about all the times that Spencer used his eyes on him or how Spencer would use his eyes during cases.

Spencer smirked.

"How about you let all of us leave early and we can all go out for pizza so I can find out how Jack's first day of school went?" asked Spencer.

"I think I will have us all leave early, and how about you call Morgan and see if he wants to join in." said Hotch as he closed up his file and a minute later Spencer, Olivia, and Piper were agreeing on a time to meet at a pizzeria.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, Ava, Daniel, Hotch, Jack, JJ, Will, Henry, Michael, Morgan, Savannah, Tara, Garcia, and Rossi were at a pizzeria in Washington DC listening to Piper, Albert, Ava, Jack, and Henry all talk about their first day of school.

* * *

 _A/N: With Olivia having a swear jar for her students, I had a few teachers who did the exact same thing and at the end of the school year all the money would be donated to a charity, and luckily with the type of student I was I never had to put money into a swear jar._


	22. The Sandman

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

 _A/N: Shout out to Hippichic81, Chermayne, OhSnapItsMadison, and Astrahan for reviewing chapter 21._

 _OhSnapItsMadison: If the student doesn't have the money with him/her, Olivia writes the student's name on a post it note and the tab while telling the student that he or she has until Friday or until the following Monday (Depending on the day the student swears) to put the money into the swear jar before she decides on disciplinary action._

 _Daniel's now six months old._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia were going through the clothing and toys that Daniel grew out of.

"I just can't believe that he's six months old." said Olivia as she watched her youngest son crawl around his nursery.

"Me neither, and hopefully Morgan and Savannah can put these clothes and toys to good use." said Spencer as he folded one of Daniel's onesies.

Olivia looked at her husband.

"After Daniel is a year old, I'm going to miss having babies in the house." said Olivia as she scooped up her son.

"At least we get to spoil Morgan's son or daughter within the next eight weeks, and maybe in a couple of years when the kids are older we can think about adopting an older child." said Spencer.

"That's a lovely idea." said Olivia as she kissed her husband and as their kiss deepened they stopped when they heard Daniel laughing.

"You think that's funny little man?" asked Spencer as he scooped up his youngest son and blew a raspberry on Daniel's belly causing the six month old baby boy to squeal with laughter just as Piper and Ava ran into the nursery and looked at their daddy.

"Can you please join us for a tea party?" asked Piper.

"Sure sweet pea." said Olivia.

"We got Albert and grandpa to join us." said Piper.

"Then we will join you guys." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were having a tea party with Piper, Albert, Ava, and William while Daniel watched in his baby seat.

* * *

The next morning Spencer looked at Olivia as they were eating breakfast.

"How much ended up in your swear jar at school since the first day of school?" asked Spencer.

Olivia mentally did the math.

"Since the first day of school last week, a grand total of $30 was put into the swear jar because one my students decides to swear just for fun since he states that he's swearing for a good cause." said Olivia causing Piper's, Albert's and Ava's eyes to go wide.

"He needs a time out." said Piper.

Spencer, Olivia, and William burst out laughing at Piper's statement before they decided to finish eating breakfast, and when Spencer put his dirty dishes into the sink Daniel started crying causing Spencer to get up and smell a stinky diaper.

"I have enough time to change your diaper before I go to work." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was changing Daniel's diaper, and he looked at his blue eyed and blonde curly haired son.

"Pretty soon your uncle Derek and aunt Savannah will be welcoming their son or daughter so you will have another playmate other than Michael." said Spencer.

Daniel babbled at his father before looking into his daddy's brown eyes.

"Dada." said Daniel.

"You do know that mommy's going to be upset tha Dada is your first word, but Piper, Albert, and Ava all said Dada as their first word." chuckled Spencer.

"Dada." said Daniel.

A few minutes later Spencer was hugging and kissing Piper, Albert, and Ava before he gave Daniel a kiss.

"Dada." said Daniel.

Spencer smirked at his wife.

"That's four out of four when it comes to first words being Dada." said Spencer.

Olivia glared at her husband.

"You are so sleeping on the couch when you come home." said Olivia.

"Your in trouble daddy." said Piper.

Spencer looked at Piper and Ava.

"I know goober, but how about I have a sleepover with you two girls tonight if I'm home, and if I have a case I will have one with you girls when I come home." said Spencer.

"OK daddy." beamed Piper.

Ava noticed a gift bag in her daddy's hand.

"What's that?" asked Ava.

"Uncle Derek is back to work today, and we're having a welcome back party for uncle Derek and aunt Savannah knows about the party." said Spencer.

"Okay daddy." said Ava.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer was helping set up the baby shower, and Spencer looked at 32 week pregnant Savannah.

"You can probably figure out that this gift bag contains clothing and toys that DJ has grown out of." said Spencer.

Savannah squeezed Spencer's shoulder.

"Thanks." said Savannah before looking at Spencer, "So how's Daniel?" asked Savannah.

"He said his first word this morning." said Spencer.

"What word Boy Wonder?" asked Garcia.

"Dada, and Olivia's not happy that all four kids said Dada as their first words." said Spencer.

At that moment they heard voices outside the conference room causing everyone to quiet down, and a minute later Spencer was shouting with his teammates.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, no, you didn't." said Morgan.

"Not my idea, babe. I was outnumbered." said Savannah.

"How long has this been in the works?" asked Morgan as he made his way to his wife.

"Oh, two weeks. You didn't suspect?" asked Savannah.

"I, uh, had no idea." said Morgan.

"That's good. A certain amount of cluelessness is nice in a husband." said Garcia.

"Ok, hush up." said Morgan as he wrapped an arm around Garcia.

"Amen to that. A woman is entitled to her secrets, especially from a profiler." said Tara.

Morgan rubbed his wife's belly.

"Well, this profiler may not be changing any diapers, but I will tear up some diaper cake." said Morgan.

"Oh, you look like a diaper changer to me." said Rossi as he thought about how Spencer became a pro due to becoming a dad four times.

"Yes, you will be changing some diapers." said Savannah.

"Ladies, I was joking, I was joking." said Morgan before looking at his wife, "Look, baby, I was joking. It was a joke." said Morgan before kissing his wife.

As soon as Morgan broke out of the kiss, Spencer looked at Morgan.

"Luckily I became a pro when it comes to changing diapers." smirked Spencer.

"So how's DJ?" asked Morgan.

Spencer instantly pulled out his phone and showed a picture that he taken the night before of Piper holding DJ.

"I just can't believe that he's six months old." sighed Spencer.

"I'm sad that Michael's turning one soon." said JJ before looking at Spencer, "I wish that you could make sure that Daniel ends up in the same school as Michael, but I know that you want to give your kids the best education as possible while making sure that they are challenged." said JJ.

"So how is Piper enjoying kindergarten?" asked Morgan as he and Savannah started opening up some gifts.

"She's getting a bit bored with the work that she's doing with her classmates since she's able to read at a fifth grade level and do fourth grade level math at home, but her teacher is working with other teachers to help challenge her so Livy and I can keep her with her age group." said Spencer.

"Now what about the twins?" asked Morgan.

"Albert's also reading at a fifth grade reading level and do fourth grade level math, and Ava's reading at a third grade reading level and doing fourth grade level math." said Spencer.

"I'm not surprised that Piper, Albert, and Ava are all doing the same math level due to having parents who are both math prodigies." said Rossi.

"Me neither." said Spencer.

* * *

15 minutes later in Washington DC, Olivia was showing her students how to complete a problem when her cellphone rang and she smiled when she saw that it was Spencer.

"I take it that you have a case meaning that you won't be able to have a sleepover with our daughter's tonight." said Olivia.

"Child abduction in Wichita, Kansas so I will really appreciate new pictures of the kids after school." said Spencer.

"I promise to take some pictures later, and I will text dad about taking lots of pictures of DJ and send them to you." said Olivia.

"Thanks, and I'm heading to the jet right now so I promise to be safe." said Spencer.

"You better come home safe to me, and I love you." said Olivia.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up.

"Everything OK Dr. Reid?" asked Jasper.

Olivia looked at her third period students.

"My husband is going to Wichita, and cases that deals with kids always take a toll on him mentally due to being a dad." said Olivia.

"My mom who works for DC Metro always hates cases that deals with kids, and I ended up telling her who your husband is and she said that she worked with him a couple of times." said Anna.

At that moment Olivia decided to focus on getting her students back on track.

* * *

Hotch was finishing up a phone call.

"Thank you." said Hotch before looking at his team, "Ronnie Brewer is still missing. Both parents' eyes were filled with sand and glued shut." said Hotch.

"Mr. Sandman, bring me a nightmare." said Rossi.

"This is a well organized unsub. He managed to kill both parents, perform a complicated ritual, and successfully abduct the boy." said JJ.

"JJ's right. It's a lot of moving parts for one person to orchestrate. Could we be looking at a team?" asked Morgan.

"This is reminiscent of the killing of the Clutter family in 1959, also in Kansas. That crime was perpetrated by two ex-cons working together." said Spencer.

"The "In Cold Blood" murders. But that was a robbery gone bad. It doesn't seem to be the case here." said Rossi.

"Well, assuming Ronnie Brewer was the ultimate target, why risk entering the home at all? I mean, wouldn't it be simpler just to grab the kid on the way to school?" asked Tara.

"Well, the abduction of the child from a place of presumed safety must be an essential part of his ritual." said Hotch.

"Who knows? Maybe the killer had a score to settle with mom and dad, too." said Rossi.

"The sealing of the eyes could indicate remorse. He didn't want them to see what he was doing to their kid." said JJ.

"Then why not just kill them immediately? I mean, he must have a reason for rendering the parents functionally blind first." said Morgan.

"You know, the sand in the eyes could be a purely symbolic gesture. The Sandman was a mythical character who would sprinkle magic dust in the eyes of children while they slept." said Spencer as he thought about how Piper once asked her why did she always have some sand in her eyes when she woke up in the morning.

"Yeah, but I thought he was a benevolent figure, a bringer of good dreams." said Tara.

"Not always. In one version of the myth, he would actually pop the eyeballs out of kids to use as food for his own offspring." said Spencer as he thought about how he avoided telling Piper, Albert, and Ava about that version of the myth.

"Geez. I stand corrected." said Tara.

"All right, when we land, Dave, you and JJ go to the crime scene. Reid and Lewis to the M.E., and Morgan and I will get set up at the precinct." said Hotch as he thought about having Morgan go to the station would help him ease back to work.

Morgan looked at Spencer.

"I really hope that your not telling Piper, Albert, and Ava about the Sandman popping out eyeballs." said Morgan.

"I'm not." grinned Spencer just as his phone vibrated and he ended up smiling at a picture of a smiling DJ in his stroller with his mom.

I ENDED UP CHECKING YOUR MOM OUT OF THE HOSPITAL FOR A FEW HOURS TO JOIN ME ON TAKING DANIEL ON MY DAILY WALK. ~ WR

"What is it?" asked JJ.

"My dad checked mom out of the hospital so she could join my dad on taking Daniel for a daily walk in the park." said Spencer as he ended up passing his phone around.

* * *

M.E. Cranston looked at Spencer who entered the room with an agent and noticed that the wedding band was still in place despite Spencer's hair being longer..

"Good to see you again, Dr. Reid." said M.E. Cranston.

"Nice to see you." said Spencer.

"Again?" asked Tara.

"Yeah. We had a case here four years ago." said Spencer as he thought about surviving a tornado.

"The tornado guy. That was one for the books." said M.E. Cranston.

"So do we have a C.O.D. on the victims?" asked Tara.

"Mr. Brewer's was massive blood loss from a severed trachea, most likely a thin-bladed serrated knife." said M.E. Cranston.

"And Mrs. Brewer?" asked Tara as Spencer looked at Mr. Brewer's body before following M.E. Cranston to Mrs. Brewer's body.

"Her skull was fractured. Some type of blunt-force trauma." said M.E. Cranston.

"It's highly unusual for a killer to use different weapons on different victims." said Spencer.

"Speaking of unusual, take a look." said M.E. Cranston as he pointed at the microscope.

Spencer made his way over to the microscope and looked at the tissue samples.

"Corneal tissue samples from the eyes of each victim. Mr. Brewer's on the left and Mrs. Brewer's on the right." said M.E. Cranston.

"Mrs. Brewer's has many more macrophages." said Spencer as he continued to look.

"That's right." said M.E. Cranston before Spencer allowed Tara to look, "It's a natural immunological response to a foreign substance."

"Huh. The white blood cells in Mr. Brewer's sample are completely normal." said Tara.

"Plain English-his eyes didn't react to the glue." said M.E. Cranston.

"Plainer English- he was already dead when it happened." said Tara.

A few minutes later M.E. Cranston looked at Spencer and thought about Spencer mentioning that he didn't have kids yet four years ago.

"Since seeing you over four years ago and mentioning that you didn't have any kids yet, did you and your wife have any kids over the past four years?" asked M.E. Cranston.

Spencer grinned as he pulled out his phone.

"I have a four year old daughter named Piper, three year old fraternal twins named Albert and Ava, and a six month old son named Daniel." said Spencer as he showed M.E. Cranston a picture of his kids.

"They're beautiful." said M.E. Cranston.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was walking in the police station with Tara.

"Unfortunately, all of the blood at the Brewer crime scene was either from Lyla or Jim Brewer. Nothing from the unsub." said Tara.

"I just talked to the M.E. Ronnie Brewer died from asphyxiation but had not been sexually assaulted." said Spencer.

"Unless strangling the boy was the sexual release. Or it could have been the unsub's first abduction and he panicked, disposed of the child immediately once he had him." said Tara.

"The M.E. also said that the type of glue in the Brewers' eyes is frequently used for surgical closures, so the drying process on the skin in well documented. Apparently it had been applied at 5:15 AM." said Spencer.

"Well, the farm hand said they saw that gray sedan flee the scene at 6:20, so if that was our unsub, what was he doing in the house for that hour?" asked Tara.

* * *

Spencer was looking through a box that contained sand as he talked to Morgan.

"The glue our unsub used is sold practically everywhere, so we can't isolate point of purchase. A mineral analysis from the sand, however, indicates that it came from the Seneca River in upstate New York." said Spencer as he looked at Morgan who wasn't even listening, "You OK?" asked Spencer as he thought about how he was always asked that question during his first case back after being shot in the neck.

"Yeah." said Morgan.

Spencer instantly grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to Morgan and sat down and leaned down a bit.

"Morgan, we're gonna find the people who tried to kill you." said Spencer quietly.

"He was in his pajamas. Ronnie Brewer. Out there by the side of the road, he was still in his pajamas." said Morgan.

Spencer instantly thought about Piper, Albert, and Ava who were all safe asleep in their beds or in Daniel's case his crib.

"I'm sorry, kid, I, uh, I don't know, man. 6 months on the sidelines. I guess I still have a few blisters where I used to have calluses." said Morgan.

"I don't think that's what this is." said Spencer as he gave Morgan a knowing smile as he thought back to when Olivia was pregnant with Piper and how he was just like Morgan causing Hotch to give him advice.

"Oh, no? Then what is it?" asked Morgan.

"You're about to be a dad. You know? You have to expect the world to start to feel different because Hotch warned me that I will start seeing things differently when Olivia and I were expecting Piper." said Spencer.

"It just feels so hard. Not as in difficult. Literally hard. Like asphalt is hard. Like pavement." said Morgan.

"And children are soft." said Spencer as he thought about how innocent Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel are.

"Yeah. Defenseless." said Morgan.

"That's why every day we try to make this world a little safer. If there's one thing I'm sure of, is that you and Savannah are going to be great parents just like Livy and I are." smiled Spencer.

"Charge by the hour, Doc?" asked Morgan as he thought about how he told Savannah that he wanted Spencer to be his child's godfather while explaining how his little brother saved his life twice while he was missing causing her to agree instantly.

Spencer and Morgan chuckled.

"I consider this session a free session, but based on the look on your face your hoping to know how I can handle leaving Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel back in DC." said Spencer.

"I am." said Morgan as he thought about how Spencer was every time he came back from paternity leave.

"Its hard to leave them in DC since I end up missing so much while having to rely on phone calls, picture messages, and Skype to either see or hear my kids voices, but like I said before I just focus on remembering that I'm making the world a little safer for my kids." said Spencer.

* * *

The next morning Spencer ended up waking up an hour earlier so he could spend a few minutes to Skype with his kids and he ended up smiling when he saw his three oldest already in their school uniforms.

"Good morning guys." said Spencer.

"Good morning daddy." smiled Piper.

"Hi daddy." said Albert.

"Hi daddy." said Ava.

"When are you coming home daddy?" asked Piper.

"As soon as I catch the bad guy and put him in jail." said Spencer.

"OK." said Piper.

"If I'm home by this weekend, I will take you guys to the park." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Olivia looked at her three oldest.

"We need to say goodbye to daddy since I have to get you three to school a bit earlier because I have a staff meeting." said Olivia.

"Bye daddy" chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Buy guys, and daddy loves you guys so much." said Spencer before signing off.

* * *

"We're looking for a family annihilator. We believe he's a white male in his early to mid-30s. He is intelligent, well organized, and meticulous." said Hotch.

"Family annihilators are often quick and ruthless, but this unsub prolongs the suffering of his victims." said Rossi.

"He appears to kill in stages. First the father, then the mother, and finally the child." said Tara.

"The mother seems to be the primary target of the unsub's rage. She is forced to endure a sense of helplessness for upwards of an hour while her child is in danger." said Morgan.

"So we're dealing with a sadist?" asked Sergeant Whitfield.

"Yes, but not sadism as we typically think of it. Despite the savagery of the attacks, the killer does not derive gratification from inflicting pain. It's from observing the panic in his victims. The sadism is psychological." said Spencer.

"Something may have happened in the unsub's childhood where he felt unprotected. Perhaps his own mother turned a blind eye to a real or perceived danger." said Morgan.

"And this could explain the ritual of placing sand and glue in the parents' eyes, symbolically blinding them as punishment." said Hotch.

"Ellie Zumwalt survived her injuries, and this may discourage this unsub and make him more cautious." said Tara.

"Or have the opposite effect. It could infuriate him and spur him to attack again soon, with increased violence." said Rossi.

"Residents in remote or rural areas and families with an only child should exercise extreme caution in the coming days. Thank you." finished Hotch.

* * *

Spencer hurried into the room where Morgan and Tara were.

"Guys. Take a look at this. Look at the mantel." said Spencer.

"The hourglass." said Morgan.

"Yeah, it isn't in the Christmas photo which was only taken a couple months earlier." said Spencer.

"Could be a recent purchase or they might have moved it there from some other place in the house." said Tara.

"Except we know the unsub spends an hour at each crime scene. What if he brought it with him as a kind of timer?" asked Morgan.

"OK. I'll have Sgt. Whitfield search the Zumwalt house for a similar hourglass." said Tara as Morgan checked his phone.

"It's Hotch. Ellie Zumwalt is out of surgery and awake." said Morgan.

* * *

Spencer entered the room where Morgan and Rossi were.

"They're analyzing the sand from both hourglasses now to see if it matches what was put in the victims' eyes. So far no prints or DNA." said Spencer.

"The unsub's careful." said Rossi.

"And precise. I calculated the width of hourglass necks with the average grain of sand having a .2-millimeter diameter and a volume of .0042 cubic millimeters. Given the weight of the sand, that's a gravity flow duration of 3,600 seconds. You know, obviously give or take a few." rambled Spencer.

"Skill level off the charts, yet his work is unknown. Not for sale, not even for display. This guy operates in a vacuum." said Morgan.

"Which speaks to the intensely private nature of his obsession." said Rossi.

Sergeant Whitfield came into the room.

"Mineral analysis just came in on the hourglass sand." said Sergeant Whitfield.

"Also from upstate New York?" asked Rossi.

"No, it's local. Most likely from the Platte River." said Sergeant Whitfield.

Morgan noticed a look in Sergeant Whitfield's face.

"What's the matter, Sergeant?" asked Morgan.

"It's what they found next to him in the sand." said Sergeant Whitfield as she handed Rossi a piece of paper.

"Human bone and tooth enamel." said Rossi.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was alone in the conference room going through a file when the conference room land line started ringing causing Spencer to put the phone on speaker for himself.

"Hello." said Spencer.

"Hi there. Uh, I was trying to call Hotch, but it kept going to voice mail." said Garcia.

"He's still at the hospital with JJ. What's going on?" asked Spencer.

"OK, I did what man chocolate asked. I got this list. There are certain things that should never exist, and one of those is this depressingly long list." said Garcia.

"Does anything specific jump out at you?" asked Spencer.

"Aside from the horribleness of it all, no." said Garcia

"You know, send me all the police, hospital, and child services transcripts associated with the cases." said Spencer as he thought about getting to enjoy a good paper trail.

"Everything on all of them?" asked Garcia.

"Yeah, I'll print out hard copies here." said Spencer.

"Ok. You're gonna need a forklift, and I hope you're using recyclable paper, but... On its way." said Garcia.

"All right. Thank you so much, Garcia." said Spencer before hanging up so he could get everything printed out while recruiting an officer to help him print out files.

* * *

Spencer spent time reading files as an officer would bring him another stack that he printed for him before noticing a picture of a little boy that caused him to read the report before heading towards Hotch and Tara.

"Found someone." said Spencer as he handed the file to Hotch.

"Who?" asked Tara.

"Patrick Sorenson of Oswego, New York. He was on Garcia's list of potential victims." said Spencer.

"Abducted by a pedophile in 1993 when he was 9, raised by a single mother with substance abuse problems." said Hotch.

"A mother who was literally asleep at the wheel when the boy was taken. She was passed out drunk in her car parked behind their house. The boy said he screamed for help, but the mom never came." said Spencer.

"Well, that explains the ritual of blaming the surrogate mother while she sleeps." said Hotch.

"And it gets worse. Listen to this. While Patrick was recovering in the hospital, the mother left a good-bye note on the kitchen table and was never heard from again." said Spencer as he thought about the letter his dad left him.

"She abandoned him. The guilt must have been too much." said Tara.

"Any idea of the whereabouts of Patrick or the mother?" asked Hotch.

"The mom never surfaced. Patrick went into the foster care system and moved back to Oswego, where he lived quietly up until 6 weeks ago, when he vanished without a trace. Garcia can't even find a picture of him as an adult, but... Read that part right there." said Spencer as he pointed at a certain area.

"It says here "Patrick told authorities he got through the assault by focusing on sand."" read Tara.

"His attacker made him stare at an hourglass while the abuse went on. He was told that if he didn't cry until all the sand emptied out, he wouldn't be killed." said Spencer.

"So the trauma of the assault was fused with the image of an hourglass." said Tara as she handed the report to Hotch.

"And launched an obsession with time, so much so that he went on to build devices that measure it with extraordinary mathematical precision." said Spencer.

"And the police report says he was abducted on a Thursday night at 10:00 and was found released in a park the next morning at 9:00." said Hotch.

"11 hours later." said Spencer.

"That's what he meant with Ellie Zumwalt. He was telling her the amount of time that he himself had been held in captivity." said Tara.

"And that may be Josie Zumwalt's timeline." said Hotch.

"So the clock is on Ellie, not Josie. She's got 11 hours to give this unsub what he didn't get from his own mother." said Tara as Hotch pulled out his phone.

"Josie was taken at 4:30 this morning, which means we have until 3:30 this afternoon." said Spencer.

"JJ, are you still at the hospital? Good. Here's what I need you to do." said Hotch.

* * *

A few hours later they were flying home when Tara looked at Spencer.

"Can you please tell me about that twister case?" asked Tara.

Spencer ended up recounting about the case while mentioning that part of Garcia telling him that he scares her sometimes, and when he finished the part about seeing their unsub allow himself to be sucked in by a tornado before Morgan and the officer that was with them closed the cellar door Tara was shuddering.

"Eww." said Tara.

"I was glad that I survived that tornado because a few weeks later Olivia told me that we were expecting our first child." smiled Spencer.

"I still don't appreciate you telling us about microbursts that day Spencer." said Rossi.

Spencer smirked.

"I take it that you still didn't consider my advice about imagining that your dealing with an earthquake like I do." said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"I was considering about you joining me and my friends for that poker game next week so I can watch you kick their ass again, but now you can stay at home with Olivia and the kids." said Rossi.

"Ever dealt with earthquakes while attending Cal-tech?" asked Tara.

"I was woken up by the Hector Mine earthquake on The morning of October 16th of 1999, and I was still living with my academic adviser at the time since I had to wait until the following spring to move into the dorms so as soon as the shaking stopped my academic adviser came into my bedroom to check on me." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer entered the house and he smiled when he saw Piper, Albert, and Ava all watching "The Angry Birds Movie".

"You guys liking the movie?" asked Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all turned their heads and grinned when they saw their daddy.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava as they climbed down the couch and ran to their daddy.

"I missed you guys so much." said Spencer as he hugged and kissed his children.

"You sleep with Ava and me?" asked Piper.

"I was thinking that you, Albert, Ava, and Daniel could sleep with mommy and me tonight." said Spencer just as Olivia came downstairs with a freshly bathed Daniel.

"All four kids sleeping with us?" asked Olivia as she made her way over to her husband and gave him a kiss before passing Daniel to Spencer.

"Yeah." said Spencer before smiling at his youngest son who was smiling at him, "Daddy missed you so much little man." said Spencer.

"Dada." said Daniel before he started to babble away.

After babbling for five minutes, Daniel started yawning causing Piper, Albert, and Ava to follow suit causing Olivia to look at her husband.

"How about I work on tucking in the kids in our bed while you take a quick shower, and after your shower I take one." said Olivia.

"Yes ma'am." teased Spencer.

45 minutes later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel were asleep in Spencer's and Olivia's king size bed.

* * *

 _A/N: I was going to combine A Beautiful Disaster with this chapter, but with the length this chapter and Rossi's poker game happening a week later I decided on not to combine The Sandman and A Beautiful Disaster._


	23. A Beautiful Disaster

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Hippichic81, OhSnapItsMadison, southernbeauty13, and Chermayne for reviewing chapter 22._

 _Will this be the chapter that helps me finally gain 100 reviews for this story? I always feel good when I get reviews since receiving reviews helps motivate to help me write faster._

 _I hope you readers love the reason why Spencer would still be at the BAU at 8:23 PM when he could be at home with his dad, Olivia and the kids because my grandma who helps me brainstorm told me that she loves my idea._

 _This chapter takes place the Friday after The Sandman._

* * *

As Spencer ate his breakfast, he looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava who were their school uniforms.

"I won't be coming home until after you three are asleep because I have a lecture to give at the academy this evening." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at Spencer.

"With you having to work late tonight, Maeve invited Piper, Ava, and me over for a slumber party with her, Allison, and Andrea tonight so it will be you, dad, Albert, and Daniel when you get home." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer.

"Other than the baby food I made yesterday, I have enough bottles pumped that should last until tomorrow morning." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer and William in unison.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer was at his desk working on consults when JJ looked at him.

"Since you and I both have classes to teach at the academy this evening, what are Olivia and the kids doing tonight?" asked JJ.

"Since its Friday night she, Piper, and Ava are going to Maeve's for sleepover with Allison and Andrea and my dad is having a movie night with Albert and DJ." said Spencer.

Tara looked at Spencer.

"What lecture are you giving?" asked Tara.

Spencer looked at Tara.

"After I earned my PhD in psychology, the FBI Director and the Deputy Director who both heard about me earning my 4th PhD decided to read my dissertation, and when they finished reading it, they asked me to create a presentation that I would give to every batch of cadets so two twice a year I will give the same presentation to the cadets." said Spencer.

"Agents who were placed at the San Francisco Field Office actually told me about your lecture when they saw me reading one of your published works, and since joining the team I wanted to attend your lecture except I always had my research work to do, so I hope you don't mind if I sit in on your lecture since I have no plans for tonight." said Tara.

"Anyone is welcome, and when I gave my first lecture the entire team decided to sit in to support me." said Spencer.

"I would like to sit in on your lecture again, but I have to teach cadets about speaking to the media tonight." said JJ.

* * *

After Spencer gave his lecture, he looked at the cadets.

"Since I'm done with my lecture, I have 20 minutes to answer questions." said Spencer.

Cadet Olsen raised his hand.

"Do you have any experience with PTSD?" asked Cadet Olsen.

"The first time I dealt with PTSD was after my first kill shot in October of 2005 I was told by my late mentor Jason Gideon that I will eventually feel something about having to kill someone for the first time." said Spencer as he started explaining the case and the aftermath while not giving any names, and when he was finished he looked at the cadets, "Any other questions?" asked Spencer.

"What's another example of a time that you dealt with PTSD?" asked Olsen.

"Over nine and a half years ago, I was abducted and tortured by an unsub for nearly three days." said Spencer as he explained the torture he went through while not mentioning the Dilaudid and when he was finished explaining how he was rescued he looked at the cadets, "I experienced severe PTSD for a couple of weeks." said Spencer.

"What type of symptoms?" asked Cadet Olsen.

"I was dealing with flashbacks when it came to looking at crime scene photos or hearing words that triggered a flashback, I was snapping at my teammates when they wanted to help me with a task I volunteered to do, loud noises like construction work bothered me, and finally when my unit chief had enough he confronted me and begged me to accept help so I could start returning to my old self while letting what I went through help me become a better profiler." said Spencer as another cadet raised his hand.

"Were you ever shot in the field and had to deal with PTSD after?" asked Cadet Miller.

"Nearly seven years ago I was shot in the knee a couple of minutes before I did a non-fatal shot on the unsub, and after getting out of the hospital one of my teammates forced me to stay in his first floor guest bedroom since at that time I was living in a walk up apartment that didn't have an elevator, and my first night at that teammate's house I ended up dealing with nightmares since my teammates and I just worked one of the most disturbing cases prior to the case that led me to get shot." said Spencer before telling the cadets about the time he was shot in the neck and the aftermath before accepting one last question from the cadets.

"With everything you have gone through during your nearly 13 years as a profiler, have you ever thought about leaving the BAU?" asked Cadet Miller.

"There was a couple of times that I thought about leaving, but when it comes to everything that I went through as a child I realized that I was where I need to be since I am making a difference by putting one serial killer at a time." said Spencer as he took a deep breath before glancing at Tara who was sitting in the front, "But this past year I've been thinking more about my future with the FBI because last November one of my parents ended up getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Dementia. Also when it comes to marrying another child prodigy, my four kids who are getting older are taking after either taking my wife or me when it comes to being geniuses so I would need to help challenge my kids while keeping them with their age group because I don't want to send them off to college before starting puberty like I ended up doing." said Spencer before telling the cadets that his time is up.

Five minutes later Spencer and Tara were heading back to the BAU when Tara looked at Spencer.

"That was a great lecture." asked Tara before taking a deep breath, "With what you said about thinking about your future in the FBI because of your mom's Alzheimer's and Dementia and your kids getting older, no one would judge you if you did decide to leave the BAU after your mom got diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Dementia." said Tara.

"I know that because Hotch, Rossi, JJ, Morgan, and Garcia all pulled me aside and told me that they wouldn't be upset if I left the BAU so I can work a job that allows me to visit my mom more often while getting to go home every night to Olivia and the kids." said Spencer.

"Well when you decide to leave the BAU, I would be glad to have you part of my research team so you can use your PhD in psychology more." said Tara.

"I will think about it." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Tara were at their desks when JJ came into the bullpen.

"How did your lecture go Spence?" asked JJ as she grabbed a case file that she was working on before she had to go teach cadets about managing the media.

"I had a full house again." said Spencer.

"Would you mind looking over this consult before you head home?" asked JJ.

"Sure." said Spencer.

"I'm going to go talk to Hotch about my next interview." said Tara before heading up the stairs.

A few minutes later Spencer was bouncing off ideas with JJ when a pale Garcia approached them.

"Savannah's been shot." said Garcia.

Spencer and JJ exchanged horrified glances before Spencer hurried to his desk and grabbed his suit jacket and messenger bag while other agents watched them grab Hotch and Tara before leaving.

* * *

Spencer got out of the back seat of the SUV as he heard Hotch brief Rossi who was already at the scene.

"We need all vehicular and pedestrian traffic stopped in a 10-block radius." said Hotch.

"Hey, where you going?" asked an officer as he blocked Morgan.

"Hey, let me through, that's my team over there! Get your hands off me. I'm FBI." shouted Morgan.

"Hey, hey, he's an Agent. Let him through." said JJ.

"What the hell is wrong with them? Don't they know we're on this case?" asked a furious Morgan.

"Yes, he knows. He just didn't know who you are. It's okay." said Garcia.

"Tell me you got something." said Morgan.

"A casing and a rifle up on the roof." said Rossi causing everyone to look at the roof.

"This guy isn't sloppy. He's sending us a message." said JJ.

"Garcia, we need to access the surveillance footage." said Hotch.

"Of course. I'm on it." said Garcia before heading to the entrance of the hospital.

"What else we got?" asked Morgan.

"That's it right now." said Rossi.

"Where were you and Savannah standing?" asked Spencer.

"We were standing right over there on the side of my truck. We were just talking. She was to the back and I was facing her. I was the one who was vulnerable. I was the easy shot." said Morgan angrily as he thought about how no one has targeted Olivia to go after Spencer.

"How's Savannah?" asked JJ.

"She's in surgery." said Morgan.

"Come on, let's check in." said Rossi as he tried to lead Morgan away.

"You guys got this?" asked Morgan.

"Go." said Hotch.

A minute later Hotch gave Spencer and JJ orders.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was in the conference room that Garcia secured for them.

"So if security footage has no angles of the shooting or the rooftop, where does that leave us?" asked Rossi.

"We're running facial recognition on everyone in and around the hospital to see if they match any loose ends from Morgan's abduction." said JJ just as Hotch entered the room.

"How did he take it?" asked Spencer as he thought back to the time that Hotch was with him when Olivia was getting an appendectomy.

"As expected." said Hotch.

"Sir, I know that when Morgan was on leave after his abduction, you encouraged him to stay away from the case." said Garcia.

"And let me guess- he didn't." said Rossi.

"We all knew in our hearts it wasn't over, and, look, we were right, so in an extra-curricular kind of way we kept sleuthing to see who was working with John Bradley." said Garcia as she thought about how she ordered Spencer to focus on Olivia and the kids after DJ's birth and how she updated him when his paternity leave was over.

"Before he came back to work, Morgan said that he'd found a connection between the men who held him at the cabin and the Montolo family." said Hotch.

"Right. So, basically, we're dealing with a big crime family tree, of which Bradley was certainly a branch. And the Montolos had hired him multiple times." said Garcia.

Spencer pointed at Garcia's laptop.

"Did you scan the drawing?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, it's right here. So, has everyone been working on this?" asked Rossi.

"I didn't start until I came back from paternity leave since I was able to catch up quickly when I returned." said Spencer.

JJ nodded.

"Kinda." said Garcia before becoming serious, "OK, with Morgan's research, plus our bad guys/gals tree here, we've cut all the legs off the evil table. So like look- you got assassin, mother, father, siblings, all deceased, one aunt in therapy for family trauma, and each line is like that." said Garcia as she pointed at the family tree.

"Montolo's line's the shortest of them all. The only living child of Chazz and Rosemary Montolo. Rosemary died when Giuseppe was just a boy." said Spencer as he pointed at the family tree.

"Right. And then Giuseppe went to live with his family in Italy, and Chazz went off to build a criminal empire." said Garcia.

"Looks like Chazz Montolo was killed last year." said Rossi.

"Yeah, in a bank fire in Germany. Got positive I.D. On the dental and fingerprints." said Garcia.

"One week after his son was murdered. What if that's not a coincidence?" asked Hotch.

"So whoever poisoned the son also killed the father." said JJ.

"Or he staged his own death so we wouldn't suspect him of this." said Hotch.

Garcia started typing.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait. I only ran facial recognition on living people for obvious reasons, but this guy right here, walking out of the hospital, this guy, that is..." said Garcia as she opened up a file, "That's Chazz Montolo." said Garcia.

"Garcia, play the footage." said Hotch.

Garcia played the footage.

"All right. Garcia, contact the city, get access to traffic cameras. Now that we know he's here, we can find out where he went." said Hotch.

Garcia's phone started ringing.

"Oh, wait, Morgan's calling me. I told him I'd keep him in the know before I knew it was an order that he wasn't supposed to know." said Garcia.

"All right. Reid, you talk to Morgan. JJ, you and Garcia track Montolo, find out who his accomplices are. He doesn't work alone. Dave, you and I will find potential witnesses who might have seen him on the property." ordered Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting Morgan some green tea as he thought about how Olivia would get him to drink green tea, and before he knew it he was in the waiting room slowly approaching Morgan.

"Were you with Garcia?" asked Morgan.

"Yeah. Here, I brought you a green tea. It won't make you as jittery as coffee." said Spencer as he handed Morgan the green tea.

"You came instead of Garcia because you know I'd be able to read her." stated Morgan.

"That is correct." said Spencer softly as he thought about how he could keep things close to the vest.

"And Hotch sent you here to see if I'm stable." said Morgan as he thought about Spencer's PhD in psychology.

"He didn't say that, but…" said Spencer as he nodded.

"I don't get jittery." said Morgan.

"Usually you don't, but your carotid tells a different story. I've counted 10 heartbeats in the last 3 seconds. That's about 20% higher than your usual when you're under stress." said Spencer

"I know you're only trying to protect me, I get it, but knock it off because I know that you would be in the same way as I am if it was Olivia. I just want to know what you've learned." said Morgan.

"When you first told me about Savannah, I'd never seen you like that. The decreased levels of central serotonin in your brain cause intrusive thinking. When I finally saw you guys together, that's when I knew for sure. Your pupils dilated, your posture changed, and I saw you involuntarily reach for her hand. Science confirmed it. You've found the one just like I did since what I just told you happened to me when I first laid my yes on Olivia. Do you believe that?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Morgan as he thought about how Olivia's such a good influence on Spencer.

"Then believe this. Our team loves you, and we are not going to stop until we find whoever did this. But we can only do that with a completely dispassionate and unprejudiced point of view. Paternal instinct is a deadly bias that we just can't risk. It's for your protection, Morgan, I swear." said Spencer softly.

"Okay." said Morgan.

Spencer nodded at Morgan before walking away just as Morgan realized what Spencer said.

"The unsub is a father, isn't he?" asked Morgan.

Spencer turned around.

"Why do you say that?" asked Spencer.

Morgan started walking towards Spencer.

"A paternal instinct is a deadly bias? Those were your exact words." said Morgan.

"I meant..." said Spencer as he put his head down.

"I know what you meant. But that's what you said." said Morgan before leaving the room causing Spencer to follow Morgan.

* * *

A short while later Hotch was approaching Spencer, JJ, and Rossi and he heard JJ sigh as she pinned the note that she found.

"Are you all right?" asked Hotch.

JJ sighed.

"I showed it to Morgan." said JJ

"What did he say?" asked Hotch.

"Same as us. It's a taunt." said JJ.

"That's all?" asked Hotch.

"Mm-hmm. And I'm sorry. I thought it would help." said JJ.

"It's okay. Where are we with the motels and the SROs along the bus route?" asked Hotch.

"Mostly cash transactions, faceless tenants." said JJ.

"I'll get the Washington field office to canvass the area." said Hotch before walking away.

"Why leave a note so seemingly on the nose when every other action has been calculated for maximum pain? It has to mean more than simply "I'm angry." It's a clue or a symbol. It means something to Morgan and I think Chazz knows that." said Spencer.

"Well, he wants to drive Morgan to exact revenge." said JJ.

"How do you think he's doing?" asked Rossi.

"Well, after the physical and emotional stress of 6 months ago, and now this? The guy's a saint." said JJ.

"He passed his return evals." said Rossi.

"Yeah, but we wrote the questions. He knows exactly what to say." said Spencer as he thought about how he shouldn't have returned as soon as he did after Hankel.

* * *

A short while later Dr. Kiyomura entered the room.

"Where's Agent Morgan?" asked Dr. Kiyomura.

"He said you were calling him." said Hotch.

"No." said Dr. Kiyomura.

"Well, then where is he? He wouldn't just go off on his own." said Garcia.

"Garcia, pull up security footage of the emergency entrance." said Hotch.

"Sure." said Garcia as Spencer made his way closer causing him to see footage of Morgan leaving the hospital.

Hotch looked at JJ and Rossi.

"Let's go." said Hotch.

JJ and Rossi quickly left the room leaving Spencer and Tara with Garcia, and five minutes later Hotch, JJ, and Rossi came back into the room.

"He's gone." said Hotch.

"GPS has him heading north about a mile away from the hospital and then he stops. Why would he stop?" asked Garcia.

"He got rid of his phone." said Hotch.

"No. No, no, no. That guy's trying to kill him. He's walking into a trap." said Garcia.

* * *

Tara looked at Spencer, Hotch, Rossi, JJ, and Garcia

"Morgan was headed north when we lost him. There are 3 highways in that direction. He could have gone anywhere." said Tara.

"Except Montolo never left the city." said Spencer while thinking about how he used public transportation when he doesn't want to drive, "Garcia, pull up that footage of him at the bus stop." said Spencer as he positioned himself behind Garcia again.

"Red line. Red line. He sees red." said Garcia.

Spencer pointed at the footage.

"But he never gets on. See, he moves right past it." said Spencer.

"So, "I see red." what the hell does that mean?" asked Tara.

* * *

A short while later Hotch was thinking about his phone call with Morgan.

"Morgan never calls me Aaron. Why would he start?" asked Hotch.

"What else did he say?" asked JJ.

"That of all people, I should understand." said Hotch as he thought about how Olivia never been targeted by a past unsub or a family member of an unsub who wants revenge on Spencer.

"He was talking about Foyet." said JJ.

"Yes. But he mentioned that earlier. Why would he bring it up again?" asked Hotch.

"He wanted you to relate to his rage and back off?" asked Rossi.

"Is there any other relevance to Foyet?" asked Tara.

"He attacked in my home. Maybe Morgan subconsciously let that slip." said Hotch.

"Yeah, but Morgan's house isn't red." said Garcia.

"Yeah, but he's renovated a lot of houses over the years. What if it's one of those?" asked Spencer before looking at Tara, "You know the house that my dad, Olivia, the kids, and I reside in?" asked Spencer.

"Morgan renovated that house and rented it to you and Olivia?" asked Tara.

"He gave Olivia and me that house as a wedding present because of how much I pay for my mom's care." said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"That's because I told Morgan to let me pay for the house after you and Olivia decided which house you two wanted to live in." said Rossi.

Garcia who finally had the website pulled up spoke.

"Wow. Morgan was busy. He has 8 properties. He started renovating in 2001 right after 9-11." said Garcia.

"I remember him saying he didn't know what else to do with his frustration. He thought tearing down walls would be a good start." said JJ.

"He wanted to restore them so he could control something." said Spencer.

"Could Montolo know about these houses?" asked Tara.

"It's public record, so probably. Uh, let's see. Morgan uses a service to rent out the properties. Here's one that's been rented for a while to a... C.R. Joseph." said Garcia.

The wheels in Spencer's brain started turning as he thought about what C.R. Joseph could mean.

Joseph, C.R. Joseph, C.R. Joseph, C.R... Guys, Joseph is the English translation of Giuseppe. What if "C" stands for Chazz and "R" for Rosemary?" asked Spencer.

"Do you have an image of the property?" asked Rossi.

"I can find one." said Garcia as she pulled up a picture of the house.

"Let's go." said Hotch.

"Address on your phones." said Garcia.

A few minutes later Spencer was in an SUV with his teammates, and a short while later Garcia was calling them.

"Go ahead, Garcia." said Hotch.

"I've got Morgan." said Garcia.

"Are you all there?" asked Morgan who sounded like he was crying.

"Yeah, we're here. Are you all right?" asked Hotch.

"He's got a gun with two bullets." said Morgan just as everyone heard a click making Spencer realize that Chazz was playing Russian Roulette, "Listen to me. I made a decision tonight that led me to this." said Morgan before another click was heard through the phone.

"This is my fault, you understand? No one else's. And if this is how it ends... It was meant to be." said Morgan before Chazz shot his revolver again.

"Don't say that." said Garcia as another click was heard.

"Promise me you'll look after Savannah and my baby." said Morgan.

"Of course we will, but so will you." said Garcia just as they heard a gunshot.

"Ohh! Derek? Derek?" cried Garcia.

Everyone sighed in relief when they heard Morgan again.

"Promise me you'll look after Savannah and my baby." cried Morgan.

"Of course we will, but so will you." said Garcia before Morgan hung up.

A few minutes later Hotch was handcuffing Chazz and Spencer placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder.

"Savannah's having an emergency C-section so we need to get going" said Spencer.

"Then let's go kid." said Morgan.

* * *

Over a half hour later Spencer was telling Hotch, Rossi, JJ, Garcia, and Tara a funny story about one of Daniel's antics when Morgan who was dressed in scrubs came over to them.

"It's a boy!" exclaimed Morgan.

Spencer and Garcia quickly reached Morgan first and pulled him into a hug before letting Hotch, JJ, Tara, and Rossi have their turn with Morgan.

"So your son is going to become best friends with Daniel." grinned Spencer as he hugged Morgan again.

"I know." said Morgan.

"Don't forget Michael." said JJ.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was sleeping on the couch with a sleeping Daniel on his chest when the front door opened revealing Olivia, Piper, and Ava.

"Daddy!" cried Piper and Ava.

Spencer quickly woke up and adjusted himself into a sitting position while Daniel kept on sleeping.

"You girls had fun with mommy?" asked Spencer.

"We did." said Piper before rambling about her sleepover.

When Piper was finished talking, she and Ava hurried upstairs to their room while Olivia took Daniel from Spencer.

"How's Savannah and baby boy Morgan?" asked Olivia.

"They're doing fine and the baby will be there for two weeks, and when I talked to Morgan before leaving the hospital he told me that he's retiring from the FBI." said Spencer.

"Oh Spencer." said Olivia as she hugged her husband with one arm.

"Its OK because with what Morgan went through six months ago and with what happened to Savannah and baby Morgan, I'm not upset about him leaving since he's wanting to focus on his wife and son." said Spencer before looking into his wife's eyes, "Are you wanting me to leave the BAU yet?" asked Spencer.

"I don't want you to stop what you love doing, but are you really thinking about leaving the BAU?" asked Olivia.

"I've been thinking about it since mom got diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Dementia, but with Morgan now leaving I don't want to leave my teammates two agents down." said Spencer.

"How about you give yourself another year before we revisit the topic about you leaving the BAU, but if you decide to leave sooner I will support your decision." said Olivia just as Piper, Albert, and Ava all came downstairs.

"Can we please go to the park daddy?" asked Piper.

Spencer and Olivia exchanged glances just as Daniel started whimpering.

"We can go after I feed Daniel." said Olivia as she got up and carried Daniel upstairs.

* * *

Two days later Spencer was standing by the glass doors as he watched JJ hug Morgan, and when he saw Morgan and JJ looking at him he quickly hurried away to the round table room causing Morgan to join him a minute later.

"I know you hate goodbyes, kid. And change." said Morgan as Spencer turned around, "Hey. It isn't always a bad thing."

Spencer sighed as he thought about how much his life has changed for the good since Olivia entered his life.

"I just can't imagine this room without you." said Spencer.

"So don't. Don't think about it. Just know I'm always gonna be by your side. I'm just a phone call away, and there will be a lot of play dates with Daniel when my son gets bigger." said Morgan before stepping closer, "I'm sorry I can't stay."

"I don't want you to stay. Because I know why you're leaving and I couldn't be happier for you, and with my mom's Alzheimer's and Dementia and my kids getting older I'm most likely going to leave the BAU next year so I can focus on making more memories with my mom while helping Piper, Albert, Ava, and eventually Daniel transition through school." said Spencer.

Morgan nodded as he thought about when he thought that Spencer was going to leave the BAU after his mom got diagnosed before pulling something out of his pocket and opened up an envelope.

"Listen, we were gonna mail these, but I wanted you to have a birth announcement first." said Morgan as he handed Spencer a picture.

Spencer looked at the picture of Morgan's son.

"Hank Spencer Morgan." said Spencer as his voice broke as he realized that he now has a third namesake.

"Yeah. Hank is for my pops. But Spencer is for the best little brother anybody could ever ask for." said Morgan before pulling Spencer into a hug as Spencer allowed tears to fall, "I love you, kid." said Morgan.

"Love you." said Spencer before he started breathing heavily.

As soon as both men broke out of their hug, Morgan looked at Spencer as he thought about how he could tell Spencer that he's godfather.

"So, look, uh, my little dude, he's gonna need a big brother, too. To teach him everything he knows about life. And chess." said Morgan causing both men to laugh.

"I can do that, and knowing Piper, Albert, and Ava they can't wait to teach Daniel and Hank about chess." said Spencer.

"I know you can." said Morgan before pulling out his phone, "I want you to see him. Look at that." said Morgan as he passed Spencer his phone.

"Oh, man. Mmm?" asked Spencer before both man laughed, "I did good, huh?" asked Morgan.

"Great, and I know that I did a great job with Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel. Oh, wow." said Spencer.

"Look at that face." said Morgan.

"Oh my gosh." said Spencer as Morgan wrapped an arm around him.

"You do know that with Hank having your first name as his middle name and asking you to be his big brother is my way of naming you his godfather?" asked Morgan.

"I already figured that." said Spencer.

"The reason why Savannah and I picked you was because how you saved my life two times six months ago." said Morgan before grinning a bit, "Even though you decided that Albert's going to be your best man when you and Olivia have the promised formal wedding when you two celebrate your five year wedding anniversary next month, Savannah and I agreed that we're not going to miss the wedding." said Morgan.

"Really?" asked Spencer.

Morgan nodded before looking at Spencer.

"I better go talk to Garcia and you should probably take a picture of the birth announcement and send it to Olivia." said Morgan as he gave Spencer one last hug before taking his phone and left the room.

Spencer quickly pulled out his phone and took a picture of the birth announcement.

MEET MY GODSON HANK SPENCER MORGAN WHO'S NOW MY THIRD NAMESAKE. ~ SR

* * *

A short while later Spencer was briefing over the next case with Hotch, JJ, Rossi, Tara, and Garcia when he saw Morgan who was in the conference room causing himself to nod at Morgan to tell him that he's going to be OK before Morgan nodded back and headed to the elevators.


	24. Tribute

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to Fashionista7 for being the 100th reviewer for this story, and also a shout out to tannerose5, Guest, Chermayne,_ _and OhSnapItsMadison_ _for reviewing chapter 23._

 _Recently I received some news from my beta reader that she's not able to beta read for me anymore due to personal reasons, so I am in need of a new beta reader. So if any of you readers have read Love Takes Away the Pain: Book One, Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Two, Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three, and this story have beta read before please PM me, but for now I will post un-beta read chapters (I always use spell check) so I don't have to keep you guys waiting._

 _I'm happy to state that I finally have season 12 on DVD so when I when I get to season 12, this story will pretty much end after A Good Husband due to much happier plans I have for_ _both Spencer and Hotch since Cat Adams and Peter Lewis are both dead, Lindsey Vaughn staying in Witness Protection, while having it that Diana made Spencer promise not to try and cure her Alzheimer's and Dementia._

 _This chapter starts two weeks after the last chapter, and Emily did meet Tara since she was able to make it to Daniel's Christening._

* * *

Spencer was heading home from Santa Fe with his teammates when he looked up from the book that he was trying to read and looked at the empty seat across from him while thinking about how Morgan would have been sitting there.

"Are you ever going to turn that page?" asked JJ.

"I haven't finished it yet." said Spencer softly.

JJ quickly realized what Spencer was thinking about.

"You miss him, huh?" asked JJ.

Spencer nodded.

"Yeah, me, too." said JJ.

"Me three." said Rossi as he looked at the two young parents.

Spencer looked at JJ and Rossi.

"Even though I know that I'm making this world a little bit safer for my kids, I keep on wondering if its time for me to move on from the BAU." said Spencer quietly.

"You are a great father, Spencer." said Rossi.

"I know, but it always breaks my heart when Piper, Albert, and Ava all ask me about when I'm going to be coming home." said Spencer.

"Have you talked to Olivia about leaving?" asked Rossi.

"We have talked about my future in the FBI, and we agreed that I would give myself another year with you guys unless I decide to leave sooner and Livy will support my decision." said Spencer.

"When your ready to leave I will support your decision Spence." said JJ.

"Me too." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was pulling out his phone to call Olivia who answered on the second ring.

"Hey Doc." said Olivia.

"We just got another case in New York City, and hopefully after this case we will have a visitor." said Spencer.

"What do you mean by visitor?" asked Olivia.

"Emily called us for help since we have jurisdiction on the case she's working on right now, and she's meeting us in New York City so I am planning on using my eyes and pout while I beg her to stay for a few days so she can see her godson, Piper, Albert, Ava, Jack, Henry, Michael, and meet Hank." said Spencer.

"Hopefully telling her that Daniel wants her to hold him while you use your puppy dog eyes and pout will work." laughed Olivia.

"I hope so too Livy because she always didn't have the heart to say no whenever I showed my eyes and pouted at her." said Spencer as he saw Hotch, JJ, and Rossi all smiling a bit.

"Well I am going to head back to bed since I have work in the morning." said Olivia.

"Good night Livy." said Spencer.

"I love you." said Olivia.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up.

* * *

After everyone took a brief nap, Spencer, Hotch, JJ, and Rossi were going over the information that Emily gave them.

"What makes us so sure it's all the same guy?" asked Rossi.

"Well, Emily believes it's how precisely he's mimicking each crime." said Hotch as Garcia's face appeared on the monitor, "Go ahead, Garcia." said Hotch.

"OK. This is all streaming to your tablets. Feel free to follow along. I give you Andrei Chikatilo. His first victim was in 1978. It was a 9-year-old girl whose body was discovered in the Russian city of Rostov. She was sexually assaulted, strangled, and mutilated." said Garcia.

Spencer worked hard on controlling his anger as he thought about Piper and Ava as he spoke.

"He also took eyeballs as trophies and ate some of his victims' organs." said Spencer.

"Ugh. I now give you 10-year-old Natasha Dudechenko. Her body was discovered two years ago, also in Rostov, roughly a mile away from where the original body was found, and tragically in much the same condition." said Garcia as she also thought about Piper and Ava.

"The Russian police apparently spotted a suspect near the crime scene, but he eluded capture in the crowded train station." said Hotch.

"Chikatilo actually confessed to 56 murders committed between 1978 and 1990." said Spencer.

"Well, the timeline and the body count probably don't matter as much as geography and the copying of the M.O. It was the same last year in London." said Hotch.

"It was, indeed. 3 women were discovered in Whitechapel, which is a district in East London, all within a month, and all eviscerated a la Mr. Ripper." said Garcia.

"The third victim was Scotland Yard. And that's when Emily almost got him in that undercover operation." said JJ.

"If this is the same unsub, he would be incredibly rare. He's both criminally and forensically sophisticated, and the fact that he's been able to function and evade caption in 3 countries means that he's highly intelligent and almost certainly multilingual." said Spencer as he thought about himself being multilingual.

"And he's got some money in his pocket, too. Travel takes financing." said Rossi.

"Lewis is flying in from an assignment in Atlanta. And we'll all connect with Emily in New York." said Hotch.

"Well, it'll be good to see her again. Too bad it's gotta be like this." said JJ as she looked at Spencer, "With you mentioning about using your eyes and pout on her to get her to stay for a few days, I am hoping that she won't refuse to stay for a few days when you use your eyes and pout on her." said JJ.

Spencer allowed himself to smile briefly as he thought about seeing a past teammate who hasn't visited since Daniel's Christening.

* * *

Spencer entered the bullpen with Hotch, JJ, and Rossi and he smiled when he saw Emily.

"There she is." said Rossi as he gave Emily a kiss on each cheek.

"Hi!" said Emily as soon as Rossi released her.

"Hi." said Emily as she hugged JJ.

"We missed you. How are you?" asked JJ.

"Good. Good. It's so great to see you guys." said Emily as she made her way to Spencer causing both adults to hug each other while Spencer gave Emily a kiss on the cheek, "Oh, brainiac, I love the do." said Emily as she ruffled Spencer's hair before making her way to Hotch.

"Hi." said Hotch as he accepted a hug from Emily.

"Thank you for coming." said Emily.

"Of course. Rossi and JJ are headed to the crime scene. I'm assuming you want to join?" asked Hotch.

"You assume right." said Emily before looking at Spencer, "If we're still working this case this evening I am hoping that if you have time to Skype with the kids this evening, you would let me join you so I can see my godson and hear Piper, Albert, and Ava tell me about school." said Emily.

"I was planning on inviting you to join in since Daniel always smiles and laughs whenever I tell him about you." said Spencer just as his phone vibrated and he ended up smiling at a picture of Daniel and his mom together.

RIGHT NOW I AM VISITING YOUR MOM WITH DANIEL, AND YOUR MOM'S HAVING A GOOD DAY TODAY. ~ WR

"What is it?" asked Emily.

"My dad took Daniel to see my mom, and he took a picture of them together." said Spencer as he ended up showing Emily the picture.

"Your mom definitely looks happy to be close to you, Olivia, your dad, and the kids." said Emily as she smiled at the picture of her six month old godson with his grandma.

"She is." said Spencer.

* * *

Over two hours later Emily was bringing coffee into the conference area.

"Oh, buddy, I remember why I missed you so much." said JJ.

"Guys, I noticed a pattern. The unsub only kills between the months of March and September." said Spencer before grabbing the coffee that Emily placed by him.

"Makes sense. It's easier to move around in the summer months." said Emily as Hotch answered his phone.

"Go ahead, Garcia." said Hotch as he put his phone on speaker.

"I have got absolutely nothing on my passport search. I've been trying to pinpoint travelers who were in America, the UK, and Russia at the time of the murders. I have zero matches." said Garcia.

"Hey, we should also look at diplomats." said Emily.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God, it's you, hi!" squealed Garcia.

"Hey, you." smiled Emily.

"Oh, my God! You're here! You're here here, but you're in the country here. I miss you. How are you?" asked a rambling Garcia.

"Garcia." said Hotch.

"Oh! Yes, sorry. Uh... Diplomats. Explain." said Garcia.

"Well, what if he's part of some kind of diplomatic envoy? Someone attached to an embassy would have money and could travel with ease." said Emily.

"Not to mention diplomatic immunity." said Hotch.

"It would also explain being multilingual." said Spencer.

"Still would have to go through customs, though." said JJ.

"I got a match. It's not really a match." said Garcia.

"Why not?" asked Emily.

Because I don't think our unsub is his excellency Dr. Sanjay Shah, 61-year-old Indian ambassador to the UK He was in London at the right time, but he's currently speaking at a climate control conference in Miami." said Garcia just as Detective Rawlings approached them.

"Guys, we got a woman who was shot in the leg in the Bronx. Claims she was mugged, but she was in the area at the right time." said Detective Rawlings.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was in the conference room with his laptop out and he smiled when he saw Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel with Olivia faces on Skype.

"Hey guys." smiled Spencer.

"Why did you have to go to New York City daddy?" asked Piper.

"Mommy didn't tell you about why I didn't come home this morning?" asked Spencer.

"Mommy said you have a surprise." said Piper.

"I sure did Piper, and you guys will find out soon." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "How was school today?" asked Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava started taking turns about their day at school, and after listening to his kids for five minutes he smiled when he saw Emily coming towards them.

"I'm glad that you three had fun at school today, and do you three want to know what your surprise is right now?" asked Spencer as he motioned Emily to come over.

"Yes." said Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once.

"Well here's your surprise." said Spencer as Emily came behind him and rested a hand on Spencer's shoulder as her heart broke at the sight of how big four year old Piper, three year olds Albert and Ava, and six month old Daniel were getting as she thought about how much she missed out of when it came to watching Spencer's children grow from a distance.

"You guys are getting so big." said Emily.

"Auntie Emily!" shouted Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once causing Daniel to start getting fussy.

"Its OK DJ." soothed Olivia as she worked on calming down her six month old son.

"I see that someone's tired." said Emily.

"I actually told DJ that you were going to Skype with us, and he got so excited." said Olivia as she tickled the baby boy's belling causing Daniel to laugh.

"Are you coming to visit after you help daddy put the bad guy in a really long time out?" asked Piper.

"I already arranged some time off because I want to see you do gymnastics in person." said Emily.

Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel all started yawning causing Spencer to look at his four babies.

"Well I have to get back to work and you four munchkins have to go to bed since its a school day tomorrow." said Spencer as he ended up telling each child goodnight and that he loves them before signing off of Skype.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Before we end up getting serious again, I have to say I just can't believe how big those kids are getting every time you send a picture or I Skype with you." said Emily.

"I know, and I can't believe that Daniel's going to be turning seven months old this month while Livy and I celebrate our five year wedding anniversary on the 24th." said Spencer.

"Well luckily I already arranged time off so I can attend your vow renewal, and I was planning using that day to introduce Mark to you guys." said Emily as she pulled Spencer into a hug before Hotch and Rossi entered the room.

"So what do you got?" asked Hotch.

A minute later Emily was posting a composite sketch of their unsub before turning around to look at three of her favorite men.

"NYPD doubled their patrols in Queens, where Berkowitz hunted next." said Emily as she

"He may not try to hit Queens. He only copycatted one murder in Boston before he moved on." said Rossi.

"Maybe now that he's back home in the states, he's accelerating for some reason or another." said Spencer.

"It might be because we have so many serial killers to choose from." said Emily as JJ came into the room.

"So the cell phone he texted Monica DeJesus with was a burner." said JJ.

"You know, somehow he managed to talk Camille Harrison into a threesome with a prostitute. This guy must be quite the charmer." said Rossi.

"You are not kidding. The amount of germs exchanged in a situation like that could be astronomical." said Spencer as he thought about the times when Piper, Albert, and Ava would all get sick at the same time.

"Well, maybe Camille was into that kind of thing." said JJ.

"Fair enough. But the unsub barely knew her. We would have had calls, texts, something. Everyone she was in touch with checks out." said Rossi.

"And he let Monica live. Copying the M.O. was so important to him, he needed to keep one of them alive." said Emily as Detective Rawlings approached them.

"One of our squads thinks they spotted someone that matches your guy's description. He entered a warehouse in Queens." said Detective Rawlings.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer stood in front of officers at the police department with Hotch and Rossi giving the profile.

"Because we got close to him, he's probably already on the move." said Hotch.

"He's extremely mobile, so canvass airports, train, and bus stations." said Rossi.

"His fascination with serial crime is deeply embedded in his psyche and part of what drives him." said Spencer.

"Which means he was probably exposed to serial crime at a young age. He may have been a victim, related to a victim, or even connected to a perpetrator." said Rossi.

"Unfortunately, there's no doubt he'll strike again. It's just a matter of who he decides to copy next." finished Hotch.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was working on a geographical profile so he could figure out where the unsub was going next, and when he figured out where he went to search for Emily.

"Guys. I found something." said Spencer as he motioned Rossi and Emily to follow him, "If the unsub has moved on, I was trying to discern where he might go. Based on the time of death of his most recent victims, I was able to estimate just how far he could get. Now, if he's somehow managed to get on an airplane, however, he could be anywhere in the world right now." said Spencer.

"Kennedy, La Guardia, and Newark are heavily covered. It'd be hard to get through that net." said Rossi as he thought about how they alerted airports and sent the composite sketch.

"Exactly. So his most likely mode of transport would be a train, a bus, or a car. I looked at departure schedules, I factored in possible travel speeds, and it appears to me he could not have gotten past this." said Spencer as he pointed at his geographical profile.

"That's a lot of real estate to cover." asked Emily as she thought about how much she missed seeing Spencer's geographical profiles.

"What's the deal with these?" asked Rossi as he pointed at the plots that Spencer made.

"Each of these represents the most famous killer of the past 150 years." said Spencer.

"Wow, look at Chicago." said Emily.

"I went as far back as the 1890s with H.H. Holmes, then the Lipstick killer in the 1940s, William Heirens. We of course also have to consider Al Capone and the St. Valentine's Day massacre and Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacy." said Spencer.

"I'm assuming that's Jeffrey Dahmer nearby in Milwaukee?" asked Emily.

"Yes. And this is Ed Gein." said Spencer as he pointed at the map.

"Well, if you wanted to copycat a famous serial killer, it looks like Chicago would be the place to be." said Rossi.

Emily made her way to Spencer.

"I have to say that I missed seeing you show off your brilliance." said Emily as she hugged Spencer.

"I miss having our foreign movie nights and chess games." said Spencer in Russian.

Emily laughed as she lightly slapped Spencer on the shoulder.

"After this case I will play chess with you." said Emily in Russian.

"Can you two multilingual geniuses place speak English." said Rossi as he thought back to Spencer and Emily conversing in foreign languages when Emily was still on the team.

"Sure." said Spencer and Emily in Italian causing Rossi to laugh.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was standing by Hotch as JJ tried to wake up Emily from a nightmare.

"Emily. Emily. Emily. Emily. Emily!" shouted JJ.

"I'm up. I'm up. Why are you guys all staring?" asked Emily as she thought about the concerned looks that she was being given.

"You were dreaming. The same one?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. Only JJ was in it this time." said Emily as she looked at the badge of the officer that died before looking at Tara who was standing by Spencer, "Tara, remember when you asked me if I was close to the inspector who was killed?" asked Emily.

"Yeah." said Tara.

"I lied. Her name was Louise Holland, and I was the one who suggested she volunteer to go undercover. It told her it would be good for her career. And we needed more women in power positions." said Emily.

"Emily, it's-it's OK." said Tara.

"But it was my profile. The whole operation, it was my idea." said Emily.

"You never told us that." said JJ softly.

"Well, I'm telling you now. She's dead because of me." said Emily as she thought about the time she left Spencer with Dr. Barton without backup causing Spencer to get shot in the knee.

"Emily, she volunteered. You have to remember that." said Hotch as he thought back to how he sent Spencer and JJ to Tobias Hankel because they thought that he was a witness, only for Spencer to get abducted.

"But I talked her into it. The Chief Inspector hated the idea. He thought it was too risky. And I went above his head to push it through. I just... I thought we'd catch him." said Emily.

"You almost did." said Spencer softly.

Emily sighed.

"Almost." said Emily.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"You do know that pretty much all of us on this just have our regrets." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "My huge regret was not accepting help right away after Hankel especially due to how I treated you until I accepted help." said Spencer causing Hotch, Rossi, and JJ to nod in agreement since they had done things that they regrets.

"You were suffering from PTSD so I've forgiven you, and that day when you got shot in the knee, I was really beating myself up for not sending you some back up." said Emily.

"Like I told you many times before, I can never be mad at you for not sending back up to me since you helped find the missing piece of the puzzle while you were at the hospital with Hotch." said Spencer.

"Except you got shot that day causing you to be sidelined on crutches for a couple of months." said Emily.

"Even though I got shot in the knee that day, I consider that case a win for me." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Emily.

"Even though I took the bullet that was meant for Dr. Barton, I did what I was suppose to do as a federal agent by keeping Dr. Barton safe while making sure that Patrick Meyers ended up having the punishment that he deserves instead of taking the easy way out by suicide by cop." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Even though I couldn't be a field agent for a couple of months, my mom, aunt Ethel, uncle Gordon, and a few other people were pleased that I was able to gain much needed weight." said Spencer.

"I do have to agree that getting shot helped you gain much needed weight, but sometimes I'm envious of your metabolism." said Emily causing Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Tara, and Rossi to laugh before Emily decided to go get some water with JJ trailing behind her.

Five minutes later Garcia's face showed on the laptop.

"What have you got, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Sir, I connected to law enforcement surveillance feeds nationwide, and I used our sketch to start official recognition search. I got this, which is streaming to your tablets now. It was taken two hours ago by a Chicago PD camera outside a bus station." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at the footage from Tara's tablet as he spoke.

"A bus left New York at 8:30 last night. It was due in Chicago at 11:00 this morning." said Spencer as he thought about how glad he was to be right on where the unsub was heading next.

"So, I am running a search with the new image. It's a national database. It's gonna take a while." said Garcia.

"Garcia, let's narrow the search by region. It's likely that this unsub grew up in an area near a high-profile serial murder, so let's concentrate on California, Illinois, and surrounding states." said Spencer.

"Copy that. That helps. But this program is literally cycling through millions of faces." said Garcia.

"OK, so what- what are we missing here?" asked Emily.

"Well, you said he was savoring it. So what if this really is all about the thrill? It would be hard for a guy like that to just shut off over the winter, so what is he doing during his down time to feed that urge?" asked JJ.

"Well, we profiled something criminal." said Tara.

"Well, if he was a drug dealer or a thief, don't you think he would have stolen that Rolex instead of shoving it down that guy's throat?" asked JJ.

"OK, then there would be seasonal and lucrative and probably high risk." said Hotch.

"He could be some kind of hunting or adventure guide. Maybe on mountain climbing expeditions or at ski resorts?" asked Spencer.

"OK. Narrowing search." said Garcia.

"Could be an oil rig worker. I'm pretty sure they sign short-term contracts." said Rossi.

"Got it." said Garcia.

"Wait a minute. The knife." said Emily.

"What knife?" asked JJ.

"The unsub's knife in the nightmare. It's long and serrated on one edge, and it has a leather lanyard thing wrapped around his wrist." said Emily.

"That sounds like a Fisherman's knife." said Rossi.

"Exactly. This might be a stretch, but what if he's a fisherman?" asked Emily.

"Crab season is from October to February. And it's highly lucrative, considering you only work a few months a year." said Spencer.

"Yeah. And it's also dangerous. Perfect for a thrill seeker." said JJ.

"Got it, got it, got it, got it. All right. Ssss. Technology's working. Good things come to those who wait. Don't look at toast while it's cooking. That's sort of thing. Shut the front door." said Garcia before looking at her team and Emily, "I give you 35-year-old Michael Lee Peterson of Joliet, Illinois." said Garcia.

"He's back in his hometown. That could mean this is his endgame." said Rossi.

"Tell us everything, Garcia." said Hotch.

"Uh, Mr. Peterson works as a deck hand on a crab fishing vessel in the Bering Sea known as "Neptune's Squall." He was raised by his mother Lorraine. She died of a stroke 10 years ago. His father Vincent was an armed robber. He died two years ago." said Garcia.

"That was right around the time of those first murders in Russia. That could have been the trigger." said Tara.

"Garcia, where did the father serve his time?" asked Emily.

"Uh, mostly Stateville penitentiary." said Garcia.

"Richard Speck and John Wayne Gacy were both incarcerated there." said Spencer.

"So which one is he planning to copycat?" asked Rossi.

"Well, Speck systematically raped and murdered 8 student nurses in their dormitory in a single night. If he's a serial killer looking for a thrill, that would do the trick." said Emily.

"Garcia, coordinate with the Chicago field office and put out an APB for Peterson." said Hotch.

"All over it, sir. All over it." said Garcia.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was in the front seat of the SUV that he was riding in with Hotch and Tara.

"Given his recent shift in M.O., there's a chance that Peterson may not copy every aspect of Speck's murders." said Spencer.

"You know, you're right. He could actually start selecting affluent targets." said Tara.

"Speck hit a nursing home on the South Side. Most of the money in Chicago is on the North Side." said Rossi from the other SUV as the phone rang causing Hotch to answer it.

"What have you got, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"Sir, I got ahold of Stateville visitor logs and it looks like Peterson and his mom visited every weekend, until his dad was transferred for his own safety." said Garcia.

"So Peterson may have even seen Speck when he was a kid." said Emily.

"Wait. Garcia, for his own safety? What happened?" asked JJ.

"Uh, let's see. It looks like Peterson's dad agreed to testify against his former partner and he was almost stabbed to death." said Garcia.

Spencer grimaced.

"Well, in prison, snitches are worse off than child molesters. Serial killers, on the other hand, top of the food chain." said Tara.

"Kids are like sponges. He spent a lot of time visiting. Peterson probably witnessed that dynamic." said Tara.

"Which would obviously contribute to his idolization of high-profile killers. He wants the respect that his father never got." said Spencer.

"And he was kicked out of 4 schools, all for fighting." said Garcia before an alert popped up on her computer, "Guys, uh, we just got a call on the hotline. It was a hang-up so it could be a prank, but apparently a student at Northeast State university spotted Peterson." said Garcia.

Hotch reached towards the button to turn on the sirens.

"Send the location." said Hotch before he started driving faster.

A few minutes later Spencer was going with Hotch and Tara to the front entrance of the university.

* * *

Over two hours later Spencer looked at Emily as they settled for their flight back to Virginia.

"So you already arranged time off to visit us for a couple of days?" asked Spencer.

Emily laughed.

"When I told me boss that I was coming here, he insisted that after this case I go on leave until next week Monday because there are eight kids that needs to see their aunt Emily, spend some time with you guys, visit Morgan and meet Hank, while spending some time with my mom." said Emily.

"Can you please stay at my house?" asked Spencer as he worked his brown eyes and pouted at Emily.

Emily burst out laughing.

"I was already planning on staying at your house." smiled Emily.

"Why not with me?" asked Rossi.

"I promised Spencer that we would watch "Solaris" together." said Emily before looking at Spencer, Hotch, JJ, Rossi, and Tara, "Please don't tell Garcia that I'm staying for a few days because I want to surprise her." said Emily.

"I promise." said Spencer causing the others to agree before grabbing his travel chess set, "Play a game of chess?" asked Spencer.

"I would love to." said Emily.

* * *

After completing his paperwork, Spencer followed Rossi to Morgan's old office.

"Did somebody say girls night?" asked Rossi.

"Yes, but we'll make an exception for you." said Emily.

"Me, too?" asked Spencer.

"Not a chance." asked Emily before laughing at Spencer's pout, "Ha ha. Kidding." said Emily.

"Well, let's do it. I'm starving and I'm buying. And bring the bottle." said Rossi.

"Oh, my God. This is, uh, this is- this is the best." said Garcia as Emily grabbed the bottle.

A minute later they were heading to the elevators and Spencer turned around and started walking backwards as he looked at Garcia, JJ, and Emily.

"OK, so, Hotch and Lewis are debriefing, but I'll text them and tell them where to meet us. Where are we going?" asked JJ.

"Mexican? Burritos in London no bueno." said Emily just as Hotch and Tara joined them.

"Speak of the devil." said Rossi.

"Hey." said Hotch.

"Oh, I see Tequila." said Tara.

"We're having family dinner. Are you in?" asked Garcia.

"I've got some time." said Hotch.

"You had me at Tequila." said Tara.

"Yes! Vamanos! This is happening. You can tell us everything about Mark. By everything, I mean everything about Mark. I want all the details." said Garcia causing Spencer to think about what was going on.

"I, however, do not." said Rossi.

"Well, you won't get any. I'll save that for a real girls night." said Emily before doing a fist bump with JJ, Garcia, and Tara before looking at Spencer who was holding the elevator door open for all of them, "If you drove in a couple of days ago, mind if I ride with you?" asked Emily.

"Sure." said Spencer.

Emily looked at Hotch, JJ, Rossi, Tara, and Garcia.

"I just want to ride with my favorite brainiac." said Emily.

"Its OK since we're having that girl's night tomorrow night." said Garcia as she thought about how Spencer would benefit with having one on one time with Emily before looking at Spencer, "Since its Saturday night tomorrow night, Emily, JJ, Tara, and I are abducting Olivia tomorrow night." said Garcia.

"Its OK, but I really hope that I don't have to deal with five drunk women in my house like Olivia and I had to deal with you, Emily, and JJ all showing up on my doorstep hungover." smirked Spencer.

"Olivia wasn't involved involved with that girls night?" asked Tara.

"Livy was 18 weeks pregnant with Piper at the time so Livy and I took in Jack and Henry that night as practice for being parents." said Spencer.

"I'm still mad about how noisy you, Olivia, and Henry were that day." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at Tara.

"I will tell you what happened over dinner." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the driver seat of his car, and Emily looked at the three booster seats in the backseat.

"Even though I came to my godson's Christening, I'm sorry that I missed the twins and Piper's birthday party." said Emily.

"Its OK, and thank you again for the donation that Piper asked for." said Spencer.

"When I was asked to Skype in, I was literally crying when Olivia told me about Piper's request." said Emily.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"Tomorrow morning Piper has gymnastics, so do you want to join me since I told Piper that I would take her if I made it home on time?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Emily right before Spencer's cellphone rang and Spencer smiled when it was Olivia.

"Can you please answer that and put it on speaker?" asked Spencer.

"Certainly." said Emily as she accepted the call and put it on speaker, "Hi there Olivia." said Emily.

"Hi Emily." said Olivia.

"What do you say about me staying in one of the guest bedrooms after my date with your husband?" asked Emily.

"You better not be planning on stealing my man Emily." teased Olivia.

Spencer and Emily burst out laughing.

"I'm only teasing Olivia." said Emily.

"The rest of the team is joining us Livy, and Emily's going to go with me when I take Piper to gymnastics tomorrow." said Spencer.

"Well I told Piper, Albert, and Ava that your coming home tonight so they begged to stay up later since its Friday night." said Olivia.

"Don't tell them that aunt Emily is staying with us because I want to surprise them." said Spencer.

"I promise." said Olivia just as Daniel started crying, "Well I need to feed Daniel." said Olivia.

"I will call when Emily and I are on our way, and I love you." said Spencer.

"I love you too." said Olivia before hanging up.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Excited about finally having that formal wedding for your five year wedding anniversary?" asked Emily.

"Yes, and I'm glad that you arranged time off to come to the celebration." said Spencer.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was sitting at a table with his teammates and Emily when Emily looked at Spencer.

"So are you finally going to tell me about the wedding party that you and Olivia decided on?" asked Emily.

"The wedding party is so cute." said JJ.

"Why?" asked Emily.

"Olivia and I decided that Albert's my best man, Piper is Olivia's maid of honor, Ava's the flower girl, and Daniel's the ring bearer." said Spencer.

"So how are you going to have my godson be ring bearer even though he can't walk yet?" asked Emily.

"Jack and Henry are pulling the wagon that Daniel's going to be in." said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Emily.

"Speaking of Henry, do you remember that video I sent you of Henry dancing with Piper at Derek's wedding?" asked Garcia.

"That video was so adorable." said Emily.

"What do you think about Piper become the future Mrs. Henry LaMontague when she's 25?" asked Garcia.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Weren't you planning that Piper and Ava can't date until their 30?" asked Emily.

"I was, but when I was watching Henry and Piper dance together, I actually realized that I could approve Henry becoming my future son in law." said Spencer.

Emily looked at JJ.

"Your OK with your goddaughter becoming your possible future daughter in law?" asked Emily.

"I don't mind Piper becoming my future daughter in law at all." said JJ.

"Just let me know when the wedding happens and I will certainly be there." said Emily.

* * *

An hour later Spencer and Emily entered the Reid family home, and Spencer and Emily held back their smiles at the dance party that Olivia and William were having with Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

"Aren't there two little girls who wants to dance with their daddy?" asked Spencer.

Olivia, William, Piper, Albert, and Ava all stopped dancing, and 10 seconds later Spencer was tackled onto the floor by Piper, Albert, and Ava causing Olivia, William, and Emily to burst out laughing while Emily immediately took Daniel from Olivia.

"You are getting so big Daniel." said Emily as she hugged and kissed her six month old godson.

Daniel started babbling at the woman who he got to babble to over his daddy's laptop, and a minute later Emily was accepting hugs and kisses from Piper, Albert, and Ava while Olivia greeted her husband.

"With it still being nice out Piper, Albert, and Ava wanted to do a backyard camp out tonight since you told them over the phone earlier that your coming home tonight." said Olivia.

"I will be glad to sleep in our tent with the kids." said Spencer.

"Well I'm staying inside with Daniel." said Olivia.

Piper looked at Emily.

"Can you please sleep in the tent with daddy, Albert, Ava, and me?" asked Piper as she worked her brown eyes while pouting at her aunt Emily.

Emily looked at Spencer who was showing his puppy dog eyes while pouting at Emily.

"I would love to Piper." said Emily.

Olivia looked at Spencer and Emily.

"So how about you two take care of getting showers taken and change into pajamas while I help the kids get ready." said Olivia.

"Yes ma'am." said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss before he and Emily headed upstairs to take their showers.

* * *

45 minutes later Spencer, Emily, Piper, Albert, and Ava were in the Reid family's tent fast asleep.


	25. Inner Beauty

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to Chermayne, tannerose5, OhSnapItsMadison, and Hippichic81 for reviewing chapter 24._

 _Sorry for the delay on this chapter since I decided to focus on finishing up on chapter 26 of my other in progress story since I was dealing with intense writer's block for that chapter before focusing on this chapter._

 _Even though Mr. Scratch is dead in this universe, I am still going to have 12 prisoners escape because it was another unsub who was the reason of serial killers from escaping from prison so the next chapter will include a lot of fluff before I deal with Devil's Backbone and The Storm._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia looked at their three oldest children as they ate baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and mixed vegetables for dinner.

"Excited about this Saturday?" asked Olivia.

"Why are you two getting married again?" asked Piper.

"Mommy and I ran away to Las Vegas to elope instead of having the formal wedding, and I promised my teammates that mommy and I would eventually have a formal wedding so we decided that we need to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary with a formal wedding." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel despite knowing that Daniel didn't understand what was going on.

"Let's just say that when daddy and I renew our vows, we will be giving vows to all four of you." said Olivia.

"Really?" asked Piper.

"Yes Goober." said Spencer.

"Will Papa Dave be back by Saturday?" asked Piper.

"He will be back by Friday since he's hosting our vow renewal while its still warm outside." said Spencer.

* * *

Later on that night Spencer was on the jet heading to Sacramento with Hotch, Tara, and JJ since Rossi was meeting them there.

"The two Janes Does were found in an SRO reserve water tank in the Oak Park community of Sacramento. That area has a high crime rate, 115% higher than the national average." said Spencer from his place next to Tara.

"Yeah, it's known for its drug usage. And from the track marks on our victims' arms, it's apparent they were familiar with the needle." said Tara.

"So this could be a drug deal gone wrong or an angry pimp. And given the surroundings, it's possible these two worked as prostitutes." said JJ.

"We should also consider that he's a moral enforcer. He could be a vigilante trying to clean up the streets." said Hotch.

"And Oak Park would be a target rich environment for him." said Tara.

"All right, when we land, JJ, meet Rossi at the crime scene." said Hotch before looking at Spencer and Tara, "You two go to the M.E., and I'll get us set up at the precinct." said Hotch.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"Excited about seeing the dress that Olivia picked out for this Saturday?" asked JJ as she thought about the girls day she, Garcia, Tara, Olivia, Piper, and Ava made when it came to picking out Olivia's, Piper's, and Ava's dresses since there were going to be no bridesmaids or groomsmen since Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel were the wedding party.

"I am, and I just can't believe that my five year wedding anniversary is on Saturday." said Spencer as he thought about how he and Olivia survived everything that was thrown their way when it came to having four kids, him getting shot, and his mom getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's and Dementia.

"At least your finally having that formal wedding to renew your vows since you and Olivia did a simple registration of marriage without vows." said JJ.

"I know, and I am glad that there will be no bachelor party or bachelorette party since Olivia and I are both married." said Spencer.

"So are you two getting new rings or keeping the ones your wearing?" asked Tara as she gazed at Spencer's wedding band.

Spencer looked at his wedding band that was dinged and nicked from wearing it for nearly five years.

"We're keeping the ones we have since I spent over $2,000 on Olivia's bridal set and Livy doesn't want a new bridal set, and the wedding band I'm wearing belonged to my late uncle Daniel who died when I four." said Spencer.

"What about getting your wedding band engraved?" asked Tara.

"Olivia and I already have September 24th, 2011 engraved on it so we decided that September 24th, 2016 will be engraved onto our rings." said Spencer before they continued talking about the vow renewal for a few more minutes before Hotch spoke up.

"Since we're landing in four hours, I highly suggest that we all get some sleep since we're hitting the ground running." said Hotch.

"You can take the couch Spence." said JJ.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he got up and headed to the couch.

* * *

Four and a half hours later in DC time Piper looked at her mommy who was helping her get ready for school.

"Where's daddy?" asked Piper.

"He got called in last night, so he should be in Sacramento, California right now." said Olivia, as she worked on pulling Piper's long light brown curly hair into two French braids.

"Can I call him?" asked Piper.

Ava who was already dressed in her uniform and had her long light brown strait hair pulled into French braids spoke up.

"Can we mommy?" asked Ava.

Olivia looked at her two little girls who looked so much alike despite Piper having her father's curly hair and brown eyes while Ava's a clone of her.

"We don't have time to call daddy since I have a meeting to attend and grandpa has an appointment to attend for grandma, so I will need to get you two and Albert to the school's before school daycare so I am not late." said Olivia.

Piper and Ava both sighed as they thought about how they both didn't like it that their mommy was no longer a stay at home mommy anymore since there's times that she ends up bringing work home to grade.

"Can we call daddy after school?" asked Piper.

"We can sweet pea, but if he's busy don't be upset." said Olivia.

"OK mommy." sighed Piper.

* * *

An hour later in Sacramento, California Spencer was at the M.E.'s office with Tara.

"C.O.D. for Debi Leitelt was exsanguination. Jane Doe died from sepsis. Both bodies tested positive for large amounts of opiates. Lab is still running a breakdown on the specifics." said Dr. Lee as she passed Spencer a clipboard.

"Debi's been clean for a couple of months, but given the statistics for relapse, it's quite possible she fell off the wagon." said Spencer before he started to read the reports that he was given.

"Or the unsub injected her himself." said Tara as Spencer noticed something.

"Am I reading this right? Two different blade types were used on the victims' faces?" asked Spencer.

"Correct. The postmortem cuts are facial slashes made by a precision blade, something like a scalpel." said Dr. Lee as Spencer looked at the victims' faces.

"A scalpel's an odd choice for disfigurement." said Tara.

"The antemortem wounds were made with a jagged tool, something with a serrated edge." said Spencer.

"OK, so, two distinct tools for two distinct goals." said Tara.

"Which are?" asked Dr. Lee.

"Unclear at this point. Jane Doe had hydrofluorocarbon and dimethyl ether in her hair." said Spencer.

"And titanium dioxide." said Dr. Lee.

"Those first two are commonly found in aerosols. Titanium dioxide is a white pigment found in a wide range of products." said Spencer.

"Like spray-in hair color, blond to be exact." said Tara.

"That's my presumption, yes. Most of it washed out in the water, but there are still trace elements on her scalp." said Dr. Lee causing Spencer to get a closer look.

"Someone who used this type of cheap hair color all the time would be more skilled at applying it. She wouldn't get it all over her scalp." said Tara as she ran her gloved covered fingers through the victim's hair.

"So the unsub did it." said Spencer.

* * *

A short while later Spencer and Tara were at the station with the others.

"Assume these victims are both victims of opportunity. High-risk lifestyle, possibly prostitutes, definitely drug addicts." said Spencer.

"We see this victimology all the time. Easier targets. It takes a while before anyone notices they're missing." said Rossi.

"Right. That part he's smart enough to plan for. If he wanted to kill them quickly, he could." said JJ.

"Exactly. Instead he spends time with them. He puts each one through a unique ritual." said Spencer.

"And he redresses one and he gives the other a sloppy dye job." said Tara.

"And then he tears their faces apart. He remakes them so he can destroy them." said JJ.

"They're surrogates for the woman who's the real object of his rage." said Rossi.

"And his anger manifests itself as a sexual release, and when he's done, he wants to do it again." said Hotch.

* * *

Later on that evening Spencer smiled when he saw Olivia's, Piper's, Albert's, Ava's, and Daniel's smiling faces on his laptop.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Dada." smiled Daniel.

"How was school today munchkins?" asked Spencer.

"I drew a picture for you." said Piper as she grabbed the picture she drew and showed her daddy the picture.

Spencer looked at the picture and he smiled when he realized that Piper was asked to draw her family so she drew a picture of him, herself, Olivia, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

"That's a beautiful picture, and as soon as I get back I will make sure to put it on my desk at work." said Spencer.

Piper grinned at her daddy causing Spencer to grin back before looking at Albert and Ava.

"How was preschool?" asked Spencer.

"I play dolls with Sarah." said Ava as she thought about the other three year old girl who goes to Occupational Therapy with her.

"I kick a soccer ball with Jacob." said Albert as he thought about the friend he made.

"Are you liking soccer as much as Jack and Henry does?" asked Spencer.

Albert nodded as his brown curls bounced.

"I want to play soccer like Jack and Henry, but I also like watching basketball like you daddy." said Albert.

Spencer locked eyes with Olivia who nodded.

"What do you say about joining a soccer team next fall when you start kindergarten?" asked Spencer.

"I would love to daddy." said Albert.

"Plus you can also do basketball in a couple of years since a lot of schools will do soccer in the fall while doing basketball in the winter." said Spencer.

"Yes!" exclaimed Albert as he raised his fist in the air.

Spencer looked at Daniel who was watching him.

"Did you have fun with grandpa today?" asked Spencer.

Daniel happily babbled before Piper wrinkled her nose.

"DJ pooped." said Piper.

"Well I will let you get back to work Spencer, and as soon as you get to the hotel to get some sleep call me if your not tired." said Olivia.

Spencer nodded before looking at his children.

"Daddy loves you four munchkins so much and I hope you four have good dreams tonight." said Spencer before he exchanged love yous with the kids and Olivia before signing off causing Spencer to go find JJ.

"How was Piper's, Albert's, and Ava's day?" asked JJ as she thought about her own talk with Will, Henry, and Michael.

"With Albert telling me about how much he loves kicking a soccer ball, Livy and I decided that Albert can start playing soccer next fall when he's four." said Spencer.

"I noticed how much fun he was having when it came to kicking a soccer ball with Jack and Henry." said JJ.

"I just can't believe that Daniel's going to be seven months old next Monday, Albert and Ava are turning four in May, while Piper turns five in June." sighed Spencer.

"I can't believe that Henry's going to be eight in November while Michael's already a year old." said JJ.

Hotch who was walking by spoke up.

"Time does go fast, and with you turning 35 in less than a month, I can't believe that Jack's going to be turning 11 next month." said Hotch as he thought about how Jack was born a few weeks after Spencer's 24th birthday.

* * *

The next morning Spencer and JJ approached the latest victim with Detective Roberts.

"Gardener found her this morning. Noticed the jacuzzi lid askew and went to fix it." said Detective Roberts.

"Any witnesses?" asked Spencer as he climbed up the few steps to get onto the deck of the jacuzzi.

"No, neighbors didn't see anything." said Detective Roberts.

"Well, we profiled he'd find a new disposal site. I just didn't think it'd be this public." said Spencer as he noticed JJ's thinking face, "What is it?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, first a water tank, now a covered jacuzzi. It's not just the water that's important to him. He wants them enclosed, like a sarcophagus." said JJ before looking at Detective Roberts, "How long was she in the water?" asked JJ.

Spencer crouched down a bit so he could get a closer look at the body.

"Well, based on body temp, the M.E. thinks she died two days ago. But based on when the family went to bed last night, she's only been in the water 6 hours." said Detective Roberts.

JJ looked at the victim's hair while Spencer studied the cuts on the victim's face.

"A real blonde this time. Exact same dress as Debi. He's combining elements, turning the surrogates into the women he really wants to hurt." said JJ as Spencer noticed something.

"JJ, look. It's a suture." said Spencer.

"Now, why would he leave that behind?" asked JJ.

"He probably ran out of time. That would explain the two different types of cuts. One of them isn't a cut at all." said Spencer as he stood up to his full height.

"I don't follow." said Detective Roberts.

"Ripping out sutures would leave a jagged edge, kind of like when you tear a shirt at its seams. That's why it looked like the unsub was using a serrated knife. He was actually trying to hide what he was doing." said Spencer.

"And if he was sewing that in the face, then the postmortem slashing could be a forensic countermeasure to hide the surgical component." said JJ as Spencer pulled out his phone to call Garcia.

"Good timing, boy genius. I have the 4-1-1 on our second victim. The Jane Doe is Belinda Cameron. She was brought up on shoplifting, solicitation charges, but she recently entered rehab in an effort to turn her life around." said Garcia.

"Garcia, what about our most recent victim? Is there anyone in the system with a red rose tattoo on their left wrist?" asked Spencer.

"I'm on it." said Garcia as she started typing, "Why, yes, there is. Leslie Schellin. She was nabbed on possession of a controlled substance. And looky here. Her current place of residence is Changing Lives. It's a halfway house." said Garcia.

"Great. Thanks, Garcia." said JJ before Spencer hung up as she continued talking, "Well, it looks like rehab is the connection." said JJ.

"Let's deliver the profile." said Spencer as he thought about how he's been stepping up more since Morgan left..

* * *

A short while later Spencer was standing between Hotch and Tara to help give the profile.

"We believe the unsub we're looking for is a white male in his late 20s to early 30s." started Hotch.

"He is a surgical sadist, operating on women he finds in and around the recovery community of Oak Park." said Spencer.

"The fact that he's able to earn the trust of the women in this victim pool leads us to believe he may be a part of the recovery community himself." said Tara.

"So he's operating on these women just to kill them?" asked Detective Roberts.

"Death isn't the goal for this unsub, pain is." said Rossi.

"He cuts these women to inflict physical and psychological scars that won't heal." said JJ.

"So who is victim zero?" asked Detective Roberts.

"That brings us to the other part of this unsub's psychology. He's putting these victims through a transformation, most likely before he starts cutting them. He's dyeing their hair and changing their clothes." said Spencer.

"We believe they're surrogates for the woman he believes wronged him." said Rossi.

"This woman might be a first victim we haven't found yet. His anger toward her wasn't sated after hurting her." said JJ.

"We think this woman, victim zero, has had a personal connection with this unsub, and finding her will be the key to stopping him. Thank you." finished Hotch.

* * *

Later on that evening Spencer smiled when he saw the smiling faces of Piper, Albert, and Ava on his laptop.

"Hi daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Where's mommy?" asked Spencer.

"She had to change DJ's diaper." said Piper.

"So how was gymnastics today?" asked Spencer.

Piper instantly spent the next minute telling her daddy about what she did in gymnastics, and when Piper was finished Olivia came into view with Daniel causing the nearly seven month old baby to grin at his daddy while showing off the new tooth that finally appeared.

"I see that new tooth finally came in little man." said Spencer.

"Daniel wasn't a happy baby last night." said Olivia.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help take care of Daniel." said Spencer as he made a few funny faces causing Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel all to giggle.

"Its OK Spencer since dad helped out last night, and when you were on cases I've managed dealing with a teething Piper when it was just you, Piper, and me." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at his watch before looking at Piper, Albert, and Ava who all looked tired.

"Its time for you three munchkins to go to bed and I have to get back to work." said Spencer.

"I love you daddy." said Piper.

"I love you daddy." said Albert.

"I love you daddy." said Ava.

"Wuv Dada." said Daniel.

Spencer looked at his four babies.

"Daddy loves you four munchkins so much." said Spencer before looking at Olivia who had a sleepy Daniel on her lap, "I love you Olivia, and as soon as I get to the hotel I will call you." said Spencer.

"Love you too." said Olivia before signing off.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was standing by the clear board studying a picture.

"It looks like the unsub attempted to cut flaps in the right cheek and then sew them back together." said Spencer before stepping aside.

"Look at his work. This is the kind of medical knowledge you get off the Internet." said Tara.

"What's he trying to accomplish by sewing the cheeks up improperly? He's choosing to distort his victims' faces." said Spencer.

Detective Roberts who was sitting with Rossi, JJ, and Tara spoke up.

"I thought you guys said he was trying to help." asked Detective Roberts.

"He thinks he is." said JJ before standing up and joined Spencer by the clear board, "OK, so, we know these women are surrogates for her. We thought he was furious with them, but we now know that's wrong." said JJ.

"He's in love with her." said Rossi.

"Yeah. Now, the implant is much like the dress or the blond hair. It's part of the transformation." said Tara.

"But implants are supposed to make you prettier. He's making them uglier." said Detective Roberts.

Spencer instantly thought about how he didn't fall in love with Olivia because of her looks since he fell in love with her intelligence and her caring nature.

"Uglier according to conventional standards. To him they're more beautiful." said Spencer.

"Somewhere is his love map he obsessed over someone society didn't want to look at. That's our victim zero." said JJ.

"He's doing all of this because he wants her back." said Rossi.

* * *

A short while later Garcia was calling them.

"What have you got, Garcia?" asked Hotch.

"I got a hit on a Danielle Steinhardt. She's been missing for the past two days." said Garcia.

"Does she fit his victimology?" asked Tara.

"She's blond, and she's been living at a treatment facility in Oak Park for the past couple of months. Her brother reported her missing when she didn't check back in." said Garcia.

"Where are we on the medical conditions that victim zero might have had?" asked Hotch.

"Nothing yet. But if you direct me, I can be a much more effective missile." said Garcia.

"Well, this guy's trigger happened recently, so look for car accidents, overdoses, suicides." said Tara as Spencer turned his chair around so he could look at the posted pictures as the wheels in his brain started turning.

"We also think his ideal may have some sort of facial deformity." said JJ.

"Uh, no, still bupkes." said Garcia.

Spencer slowly got up and made his way to the board causing JJ, Hotch, and Tara to realize that Spencer figured something out.

"A neurofibroma." said Spencer to himself before he spoke up, "Garcia, look up neurofibromatosis." said Spencer.

"Uh, how do you spell that?" asked Garcia as she started typing, "Wait, never mind, auto correct has it." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at Hotch and his two female teammates.

"Neurofibromatosis is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form on nerve tissue." said Spencer.

"OK, Garcia, look for women with tumors embedded in the nerves on the right side of their face. That's where all the implants have been." said Tara.

"OK, there's a rehabilitation center that specializes in that at U.C. Davis. It's not the rehab we've been talking about. It's the medical kind. OK. I'm gonna dig into this. I will hit you back when I find a bone. OK? Bye." said Garcia before hanging up.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was going through a file when Rossi looked at him.

"So are you ready for your vow renewal this Saturday?" asked Rossi.

"I already picked up my tuxedo from the dry cleaners, dad is going to take Albert to pick up his tuxedo, and Olivia's going to take Piper and Ava to pick up their dresses today." said Spencer.

"Since I allowed Olivia access to my mansion by giving her a key and the code for the alarm system I told her that she could take the three dresses to my mansion today." said Rossi.

"I appreciate you for allowing the vow renewal to happen at your mansion." said Spencer.

"Even though you and Olivia eloped nearly five years ago before deciding to cancel the formal ceremony that was suppose to happen in January of 2013 due to the stress that we were all under, none of us are allowing you and Olivia to back out of having that formal wedding to celebrate your five year wedding anniversary." said Rossi.

"I know." said Spencer he and Rossi decided to focus on their files before Garcia called Spencer.

"What's up, Garcia?" asked Spencer.

"I sent a video to your tablets." said Garcia causing Rossi to position his tablet so Spencer could look at it with him, "I give you Sarah Sherwood, 28, blond, and the poor sweetheart suffered from neurofibromatosis." said Garcia.

"She drowned herself at her parents' house 3 weeks ago." said Rossi.

"Roughly around the time the first victim would have gone missing." said Spencer as Rossi and Spencer went through the pictures that Garcia sent them.

"She drowned herself in the worst way I can imagine. Her parents had a pool with a retractable tarp. She held down the remote and she covered herself under it." said Garcia.

"She would have locked herself in. That explains why he chooses enclosed bodies of water for his victims." said Spencer.

"And puts them in the same dress she wore when she killed herself. The only person who would know that is the one who found the body. Garcia?" asked Rossi.

"Yes, yes, sir, I am on that like brown on super healthy rice. Uh... That would be her boyfriend. He goes by the name of Joseph Berzon. According to police, he was inconsolable." said Garcia.

"How is Joseph connected to the other victims?" asked Rossi.

Garcia did some typing.

"He works for delivery dining. They deliver to treatment centers and the SRO where the first two victims were found." said Garcia.

"That's how he got access to the pain medication. The worse the rehab center, the more lax they are with the drugs and the easier they are to steal." said Spencer.

"And according to their website, they seal the meals with a vacuum sealer." said Garcia.

"Garcia, where can we find Joseph?" asked Rossi.

"I'm sending you his work and home address." said Garcia.

A short while later Spencer, JJ, Rossi, and Tara were strapping on their Kevlar vests when Garcia called them.

"Hey, Garcia, you're on speaker." said JJ.

"I've got background on Joseph Berzon." said Garcia.

"Anything stand out?" asked Tara.

"Oh, yeah. When he was 11, his mother was in a car accident that completely mutilated her face. She was then bedridden for 3 years and then died as a result of her injury. He had no other living family." said Garcia.

"That event must have imprinted on him and stayed with him all these years." said Spencer as he, Rossi, JJ, and Tara started walking.

"And after that, he was put in the foster care system, and then the group home he was in was busted on abuse charges." said Garcia.

"Sounds like the kid went through a lot of physical and emotional pain. That's one hell of a stressor." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was with Tara in an SUV, and when they almost got to Joesph's workplace they ended up calling Garcia back.

"Reid and I are nearly at Berzon's work. Is there anything else, Garcia?" asked Tara.

"Yeah. I just found some interesting emails between Sarah and her parents." said Garcia.

"What are they about?" asked JJ who was in another SUV.

"A month ago, there was an incident at a park." said Garcia.

"What kind of incident?" asked Spencer.

"Well, Sarah didn't go outside much, and according to one of these email exchanges, she was really embarrassed about the tumors on her face, but Joseph encouraged her to give it a try. That's when things got bad. He left her alone... And she had an anxiety attack. Two days later, he found her dead." said Garcia.

"Then this isn't just about recreating Sarah, it's about rewriting the past. He thinks he can get it right this time." said Rossi.

* * *

Over seven hours later Spencer quietly entered his house, and after quietly checking on his three oldest kids, he ended up checking up on Daniel who was laying awake in his crib.

"What are you doing up little guy?" asked Spencer softly as he lifted up his youngest son out of his crib and felt his diaper, "You have a wet diaper so I might as well change it and rock you back to sleep before I take a shower." said Spencer quietly as he carried his youngest son to the changing table where he expertly changed his youngest son's diaper.

A minute later Spencer was sitting in the rocking chair rocking his son to sleep as he sang a few lullabies, and after rocking Daniel for 15 minutes he was putting his sleeping son into his crib before heading into the master bedroom where Olivia wasn't in bed.

"Livy?" asked Spencer quietly.

"Lock our bedroom door and come into the bathroom." called out Olivia.

Spencer quickly locked their bedroom door before plugging in his two cellphones to charge, and a few seconds later Spencer entered the bathroom and shook his head when he saw that Olivia had prepared a bubble bath and was already in the tub.

"When I heard you through the baby monitor I decided that we should take a bubble bath together." said Olivia as Spencer sat down on the edge of the tub near Olivia.

"I appreciate your thoughtful gesture." said Spencer as he ran a hand through the bubbles while thinking about how his wife looks even more beautiful at 32 despite meeting Olivia when she was 27, "Despite knowing each other for over five years and four months, you keep on looking more beautiful every day since you gave me four beautiful kids." said Spencer as he got up and started undressing himself while knowing that Olivia was enjoying the show he was giving her before he joined Olivia in the tub.

"Thank you for giving me that show." said Olivia as she leaned herself against her husband's chest.

"I really hope that you didn't fall in love with me due to my looks." teased Spencer.

"I didn't, but how about I list the reasons why I fell in love with you before you list the reasons why you fell in love with me." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer as he thought about the case he just closed with his teammates.

Olivia started listing the reasons why she fell in love with Spencer before Spencer listed the reasons why he fell in love with Olivia before they got out of the tub and moved into the shower.

* * *

 _A/N: I thought that I should end this chapter there because you readers can probably imagine what happened in the shower before they checked on Daniel before getting some sleep. Luckily you faithful readers won't have to wait long for the next chapter because I already have 2,400 words typed._


	26. Five Year Wedding Anniversary

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5, Chermayne, OhSnapItsMadison, and Astrahan for reviewing chapter 25._

 _I decided a few months back that Spencer and Olivia would finally have that formal wedding for family and friends to celebrate their five year wedding anniversary since they did a simple registration of marriage in Las Vegas._

 _I hope that you guys love my idea of Spencer's best man, Olivia's maid of honor, flower girl, and the ring bearer._

* * *

Piper and Ava looked at their mommy who was wearing a white knee length wedding dress with a poofy skirt, a turquoise necklace that their daddy bought for their mommy, and turquoise colored cowgirl boots.

"You look like a princess mommy." said Piper.

Olivia looked at her two little girls who were both wearing matching knee length white dresses with turquoise sashes around their waists while also wearing turquoise colored cowgirl boots like her.

"You two girls also look like princesses." said Olivia as she thought about how she insisted the Piper and Ava both wear their hair in side braids just like her, "Just wait until daddy sees you two." said Olivia.

"Thank you mommy." said Piper and Ava in unison.

Garcia looked at Olivia.

"I was so hoping that you would have me be your maid of honor, but I think its adorable that you and Spencer decided that Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel will be your wedding party." said Garcia.

"When Spencer told me that he wanted Albert to be his best man, I instantly knew that I wanted my oldest daughter to be my maid of honor." said Olivia.

"At least I will be the officiant for you and Spencer." said Garcia.

* * *

Meanwhile in another bedroom Diana looked at her son.

"Even though we were in a court house five years ago for that simple registration of marriage, I'm grateful that you and Olivia decided to have a formal wedding on your five year wedding anniversary." said Diana.

"Livy and I promised my teammates that we would eventually have a formal wedding, and I hope that you will remember today before the Alzheimer's take over." said Spencer.

"I hope so too, and I'm glad that the wedding is going to be filmed for me." said Diana.

Spencer quickly thought about a conversation he had with Olivia.

"So what do you say about just you and me going on a vacation together after Daniel's first birthday?" asked Spencer.

"Really?" asked Diana.

"Olivia mentioned that you and I should go on a mother and son vacation, and I already have the time cleared off for after Daniel's first birthday." said Spencer.

"How about you pick out where we will go." said Diana.

"OK." said Spencer as he knelt down to Albert's eye level and straightened his son's bow tie before making sure that DJ was secured in his wagon before looking at Jack and Henry, "Have fun pulling Daniel down the aisle." said Spencer.

"We will uncle Spencer." said Henry as he hugged his godfather.

Spencer looked at his oldest son.

"Remember what you need to say to your grandma and grandpa?" asked Spencer.

"Yes daddy." said Albert before looking at his grandma and grandpa, "Grandma and grandpa, may I please take you to your seats?" asked Albert.

"You certainly can Albert." said William as he reached out and straightened his son's bow tie.

"Ready Albert?" asked Diana.

"Yes grandma." said Albert as he took ahold of his grandparents hands.

Spencer looked at his babbling nearly seven month old son.

"I will see you soon little man." said Spencer as he gave his youngest son a kiss.

A minute later Spencer was heading to the alter that Rossi had set up in his backyard, and after Albert escorted his grandparents down the aisle causing a few awes from their guests, Albert took his place by his father.

"We will be seeing mommy and your sisters soon buddy." said Spencer as he gave Albert a high five for a job well done.

"OK daddy." said Albert just the music started.

"Remember to stay quiet buddy." said Spencer as he looked at his aunt, uncle, his cousin and his family, past and present teammates, and old college friends who were sitting in the chairs that were set up.

A minute later Piper was coming down the aisle by herself, causing a bunch of guests to awe at the maid of honor, and as soon as Piper reached her daddy, Spencer crouched down.

"Good job Piper." said Spencer as he gave Piper a hug and a kiss on the forehead before standing up to his full height and guided Piper to where she needed to stand.

"Mommy looks like a princess" said Piper.

"So do you." said Spencer quietly.

A few seconds later Jack and Henry were coming down the aisle pulling a wagon that contained Daniel was strapped into, and as soon as Jack and Henry parked the wagon by Spencer and Albert both boys headed towards their dads.

"Take the pillow from your brother." said Spencer quietly.

"OK." said Albert as he took the pillow that already contained his father's wedding band and his mother's bridal set.

A few seconds later Ava was coming down the aisle scattering flowers, and after Ava took her place by her big sister Spencer's jaw dropped when he saw Olivia coming towards them with Rossi.

"Close your mouth daddy or you will catch flies." said Albert causing Piper and Ava to giggle.

"You taught you that?" asked Spencer quietly as Olivia slowly made her way over to them with Rossi.

"Uncle Derek." said Albert.

Spencer shot a look at a chuckling Derek just as Olivia reached them causing Rossi to go take a seat by Spencer's parents and Diana's nurse.

"You may all be seated." said Garcia.

All their guests sat down before Garcia started her speech.

"We're here today to finally have that formal wedding that Spencer and Olivia promised us after they eloped in Las Vegas five years ago today." said Garcia causing some laughter from their guests before she continued her speech.

After Garcia competed her speech she made, she looked at Spencer.

"Please repeat after me." said Garcia as she said the first line of the vows that she found, "My love, these past five years since we said "I do" you have already given me the two greatest gifts of my life: your love, and our beautiful children." recited Garcia.

Spencer looked into Olivia's eyes.

"My love, these past five years since we said "I do" you have already given me the two greatest gifts of my life: your love, and our beautiful children." recited Spencer.

"Today it is to honor to renew my commitment to you as your husband." said Garcia.

"Today it is my honor to renew my commitment to you as your husband." repeated Spencer.

"I promise to continue building our family together, celebrating our job, comforting one another in hard times, and strengthening our family's future." recited Garcia.

"I promise to continue building our family together, celebrating our job, comforting one another in hard times, and strengthening our family's future." repeated Spencer.

"I vow to love and cherish you for all the days of my life." said Garcia.

"I vow to love and cherish you for all the days of my life." repeated Spencer.

Garcia looked at Olivia.

"Please repeat after me." said Garcia, "My love, for these past five years since we said "I do" you have already given me the two greatest gifts of my life: your love, and our beautiful children." said Garcia.

Olivia looked into her husbands eyes.

"My love, for these past five years since we said "I do" you have already given me the two greatest gifts of my life: your love, and our beautiful children." said Olivia.

"I promise to continue building our family together, celebrating our job, comforting one another in hard times, and strengthening our family's future." recited Garcia.

"I promise to continue building our family together, celebrating our job, comforting one another in hard times, and strengthening our family's future." recited Olivia.

"I vow to love and cherish you for all the days of my life." said Garcia.

"I vow to love and cherish you for all the days of my life." recited Olivia.

Garcia smiled at Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel who were all either standing or sitting on Spencer's or Olivia's side patiently despite Daniel looking tired.

"Now your mommy and daddy decided to give vows to all four of you." said Garcia before looking at Spencer and recited from her tablet, "My sweetest ones." said Garcia.

Spencer knelt down to his kids eye levels.

"My sweet ones." said Spencer.

"You are the gifts our love has brought into the world." said Garcia.

"You are the gifts that our love has brought into the world." said Spencer.

"Today it is not only my honor to renew my commitment to your mother but to you four as well." said Garcia.

"Today it is not only my honor to renew my commitment to your mother but to you four as well." said Spencer.

"I promise to continue to celebrating our joy, comforting you in the hard times, and strengthening our family's future." said Garcia.

"I promise to continue to celebrating our joy, comforting you in the hard times, and strengthening our family's future." said Spencer.

"I vow to love and cherish you for all the days of my life." said Garcia.

"I vow to love and cherish you for all the days of my life." said Spencer.

Garcia looked at Olivia.

"Now its your turn Olivia." said Garcia, "My sweet ones." said Garcia.

Olivia knelt down to Piper's, Albert's, Ava's, and Daniel's eye levels.

"My sweet ones." said Olivia.

"You are the gifts of our love has brought into this world." said Garcia.

"You are the gifts of our love has brought into this world." said Olivia.

"Today it is not only my honor to renew my commitment to your father but to you four as well." said Garcia.

"Today it is not only my honor to renew my commitment to your father but to you four as well." said Olivia.

"I promise to continue to celebrating our joy, comforting you in the hard times, and strengthening our family's future." said Garcia.

"I promise to continue to celebrating our joy, comforting you in the hard times, and strengthening our family's future." said Olivia.

"I vow to love and cherish you all the days of my life." said Garcia.

"I vow to love and cherish you all the days of my life." said Olivia.

Garcia looked at Spencer and Olivia.

"Since Daniel looks like he's just about ready for his afternoon nap, you two geniuses kiss before hugging and kissing your children." said Garcia.

Everyone clapped while Spencer and Olivia grinned at each other as they gave each other a kiss before hugging and kissing each child before Spencer scooped up both Piper and Ava while Olivia lifted up Albert while grabbing the handle of the wagon and the family of six headed towards the table that was set up for them so guests.

"Its going to be about an hour before dinner's done." announced Rossi.

* * *

After dinner was cleaned up Spencer and Olivia got onto the dance floor with their kids.

"We should hold Daniel together." said Spencer.

10 seconds later Spencer and Olivia were holding their nearly seven month old son together before Piper took her daddy's free hand.

"Take Piper's free hand Ava." said Spencer.

"Okay." said Ava as she followed her daddy's instructions.

"Take my free hand Albert." said Olivia.

Albert immediately took his mother's free hand before taking Ava's free hand allowing the family of six to make a connected circle.

"You guys ready?" asked the DJ.

"Ready." said Olivia.

At that moment the DJ put on the song. "I'll Be There" by Jackson 5 while Garcia started the slide show that started with the first family portrait after Piper's birth causing all the guests to watch the slide show of Spencer's and Olivia's journey as parents, and halfway through the song all six Reids broke apart so Spencer could dance with his daughters while Olivia danced with her sons until the song was over.

A few minutes after the song was over, Spencer made his way over to his mom who was sitting with his dad and Nurse Cassie.

"Ready for our mother and son dance?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Diana.

Spencer held out his hand to his mom and helped her stand up as he nodded at their DJ.

"Spencer picked the song "Thank You Mom" by Good Charlotte for their mother and son dance." said the DJ as Spencer led his mom to the dance floor while Garcia used her laptop to pulled up the slide show that created that included pictures of Spencer and Diana together from when Spencer was a baby to the picture that was taken before the vow renewal ceremony.

As soon as Garcia gave the DJ the OK to start playing the song, "Thank You Mom" started playing causing Spencer to start leading his mom on the dance floor causing everyone to watch the slide show while Spencer danced with his mom.

William watched the slide show as he watched Spencer dance with his mom causing him to think back to taking a bunch of the pictures before looking at Rossi.

"Based on hearing the lyrics I can tell why Spencer picked this song for the mother and son dance." said William as he started to tear up at the sight of his only child dancing with his ex-wife.

"I agree." said Rossi.

"I just can't believe that my only child will be 35 in 15 days, and I'm glad that he allowed me to give him a second chance." said William.

Emily joined Rossi and William causing both men to see that Emily didn't have any dry eyes like most of the female guests.

"Spencer gave you a second chance because he thought that I was dead causing him to realize that life is short and that with you getting older he should be on good terms with you just in case anything happened to you." said Emily as she looked at Spencer's father.

As soon as the song was over, Spencer looked at his mom who was crying.

"I take it that you love the song that I picked?" asked Spencer as he looked at his mom who was tearing up.

"What was the title again?" asked Diana.

"Thank You Mom" by Good Charlotte and Olivia helped me pick this song." said Spencer.

"It was perfect." said choked Diana.

Spencer pulled his mom into a hug as he felt his own tears starting to fall causing them to stand there for a few minutes, and as soon as his mom stopped crying Spencer looked at his mom.

"You want to go sit down?" asked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she allowed her son to escort her to William who took her to sit down just as a teary eyed Olivia approached her husband.

"You OK?" asked Olivia as she reached out and wiped Spencer's tears.

"Yeah, and I'm glad that mom's lucid today." said Spencer.

"Practically every women in this backyard were crying." said Olivia.

"I figured that." said Spencer as he watched nurse Cassie join his mom before he looked at his wife, "Let's dance." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer and Olivia were dancing on the floor near other guests who were also dancing before Spencer decided to share a dance with past and present female teammates.

* * *

An hour later Diana smiled when she saw Spencer twirl his daughters when someone sat down next to her causing her recognize her son's unit chief.

"I hope you don't mind company for a couple of minutes Diana." said Hotch as he watched Jack dance with Olivia.

"Not at all Aaron." said Diana before looking at Aaron, "Even though I've only interacted with your son a couple of times, I can't believe how big Jack's getting." said Diana.

"Me neither since Jack's already in junior high school while he's going to celebrate his 11th birthday next month." said Hotch before looking at Diana, "I take it that you know that I've been very supportive of Spencer when he wants to take some time off to spend some time with you?" asked Hotch.

"Spencer never told me why." said Diana.

"My ex-father in law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in April of 2015, and I vowed to myself that if any of my teammates ever have to deal with a family member getting diagnosed with Alzheimer's or Dementia, I would make sure that the teammate who is affected would get to spend as much time with that family member as much as possible." said Hotch.

Diana watched her son twirl Piper and Ava at the same time.

"I can't believe that my baby boy will be 35 next month." said Diana.

"He's definitely not the same 21 year old man that I mentored at the academy before he joined the BAU, but I'm glad that I became a huge part of shaping him into the man he is today." said Hotch.

Diana looked at Hotch.

"While my memory is still good, I want to thank you for being there for my baby boy." said Diana.

"When I started working with Spencer in the academy, he grown onto me instantly." said Hotch as he watched Olivia and Jack dance their way over to Spencer, Piper, and Ava so Olivia could give Spencer a quick kiss, "I can never regret allowing Spencer to take that sabbatical since that sabbatical caused Olivia to enter all our lives, and Olivia has definitely helped stop Spencer from being a workaholic." said Hotch.

"I was worried about him working a sad job, but I am glad that he met Olivia since she brought a lot of joy back to his voice while making sure that he visited me more." said Diana.

"Spencer's been happier since you moved out here." said Hotch.

"I've been happier too since I'm able to see my grandchildren more often." said Diana.

Hotch felt a tug at his pants leg and some babbling causing him to look down to see his nearly seven month old godson causing him to reach down and scoop up his godson.

"I take it that you want to join grandma and godfather for a little bit?" asked Hotch as he ended up blowing a raspberry on Daniel's belly causing the baby boy to laugh.

Diana laughed as she heard her youngest grandchild laugh.

"I just can't believe how big Daniel's getting." said Diana as she looked at her curly blonde haired and blue eyed grandson.

"Me neither, and I know that everyone can't believe that Piper's already four years old and going to kindergarten." said Hotch before shaking his head when he saw Piper to a couple of back handsprings causing a few people who were watching to clap, "With how Piper excels at gymnastics, she definitely didn't inherit the clumsiness that I witnessed Spencer deal with during his early years in the FBI." said Hotch.

"I know." said Diana as she motioned Hotch to hand her Daniel.

As soon as Daniel was in his grandma's arms, Diana smiled at her youngest grandchild just as she saw Albert who was running towards his godmother slipped.

"Definitely like his father." said Diana before looking into her youngest grandson's blue eyes, "Are you going to deal with clumsy moments like your big brother Albert and your daddy?" cooed Diana as she tickled her youngest grandson's tummy causing the nearly seven month old to giggle.

* * *

 _A/N: When I was looking up songs that Spencer could have the mother/son dance with his mom, I listened to the song "Thank You Mom" by Good Charlotte a couple of times made me realize that song is perfect based on Spencer's relationship with his mom so I highly recognize that you look up the song "Thank You Mom" by Good Charlotte._


	27. Devil's Backbone

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds._

 _A/N: Shout out to southernbeauty13, Fashionista7, Astrahan, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 26._

 _Sorry for the delay for this chapter. Other than focusing on my other in progress story and wanting to see how the season 13 premiere turn out before starting this chapter, I've been busy since I am now babysitting two kids (A nearly four year old girl and a nearly two year old boy) of one of my mom's friends three times a week. So that means that I will have less time to write since I can't take my laptop with me, and I also have to be quiet since I am babysitting during nap time (the two kids I'm babysitting are sleeping on the couches). On the bright side, I can read other stories on my phone as long as I don't read any stories that include a lot of humor since laughing will wake up those two adorable kids._

 _This chapter starts the day after the last chapter since Spencer and Olivia agreed that they don't want to take time off of work to celebrate their five year wedding anniversary._

* * *

Spencer looked at his youngest son as he worked on rocking Daniel to sleep.

"I just can't believe that your turning seven months old tomorrow." said Spencer.

Daniel happily babbled at his daddy.

"Me neither." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "With your 35th birthday happening in less than 14 days, is there anything special you want to do?" asked Olivia as she thought about her husband's birthday happening on a Sunday.

"A family outing after Mass before having a big family dinner." said Spencer.

"Done." said Olivia before looking at her youngest son, "He's finally asleep."

A minute later Spencer was putting his youngest son into his crib before heading downstairs with his wife to see William watching a movie with his three oldest grandchildren who were already in their pajamas.

"As soon as the movie is over its off to bed since you three have school." said Spencer.

"Can I please sleep with you two?" asked Piper as she worked her brown eyes on her parents.

Spencer and Olivia looked at each other before Olivia nodded at her husband.

"You can." said Spencer before looking at his nearly three and a half year old twins, "Do you two want to have a sleepover with mommy, Piper, and I?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Albert and Ava in unison.

"What about Danny?" asked Piper.

"Even though he's sleeping right now, he can sleep with us." said Olivia.

10 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were helping their three oldest finish up on getting ready for bed while they got ready for bed themselves, and 15 minutes later the family of six were fast asleep in Spencer's and Olivia's king sized bed.

* * *

The next morning Spencer approached JJ as she watched workers rearrange Morgan's old office.

"Why didn't you move in?" asked Spencer.

JJ looked at her brother who has managed being a father to four kids.

"Oh boy, do you know how busy I am with two kids? Having another chore was the last thing I needed. Why didn't you take it?" asked JJ.

"Oh, it just felt wrong, somehow." said Spencer.

"Ohh. This is a good thing." said JJ as she pointed at the office, "Morgan's happy; this is what he wanted." said JJ.

"I know, and sometimes I feel like a bad father by staying here instead of taking a job that gives me normal hours and no traveling." said Spencer.

"Your a great father, and your dad and Olivia have managed your four kids when we're traveling." said JJ before taking a deep breath, "Look, it's not like he just vanished. We can call him any time." said JJ just as a sighing Garcia approached them.

"Oh, I told Hotch that we should leave this as a shrine for Morgan, but he overruled me and he gave it to the Expert Adviser Program. I'm going to hate whoever moves in here." said Garcia.

"Mmm-mmm, Penelope, you don't hate anyone." said JJ.

"I'm gonna vehemently dislike them." said Garcia as Hotch approached them.

"Garcia, we got confirmation. Is everything set up?" asked Hotch.

"Ready and waiting, sir." said Garcia.

Hotch looked at Spencer and JJ while noticing some sadness in Spencer's eyes.

"We have a case. Let's go." said Hotch before walking away.

Spencer looked at Morgan's office for a couple of more seconds before walking away as he sent Olivia a text message.

I HAVE A CASE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF I'M FLYING OFF SOMEWHERE OR ITS LOCAL. ~ SR

A few minutes later Spencer was in the conference room.

"Two years ago, 12-year old Adam Morrissey vanished on his way from school from Franklin, Virginia. At the time, he was living with his mother, who had just gone through a bitter divorce." said Garcia.

"I remember this. His mother and local authorities believed he was abducted by his father and taken to Mexico." said Rossi.

"Yes. And then 3 months after that, 13-year-old Jimmy Bennett went missing from Richmond, Virginia, 75 miles away. He was in foster care because both of his parents were drug addicts. He had run away once before, so police assumed that it happened again." said Garcia.

"The cases were thought to be unrelated until last night." said Hotch.

"That is when prison guards at Fletcham Correctional Center intercepted an incoming package containing the clothes both boys were last seen in." said Garcia as she showed pictures of the clothes that Adam and Jimmy were wearing when they went missing.

"DNA samples from skin cells found on the clothing were confirmed to match the missing boys, so we know the items are authentic." said Hotch.

"And there's dried blood on the clothes. That's not a good sign." said Tara.

"Who was the package being sent to?" asked Spencer.

"Antonia Slade." said Hotch as Garcia showed a mug shot of Antonia from her arrest.

"You don't say." said Rossi.

"She was a serial killer captured 15 years ago, right?" asked Tara.

"The Runaway killer. She was a clinical social worker and she started this Runaway hotline in order to lure her preferred victims, young teens, to her home. Gideon was on that case." said Rossi.

Spencer looked at the file that he was given.

"It says here that she lived with her long-time lover Phil Garmin, who shot himself when police arrived. They found 9 bodies 5 girls, 4 boys wrapped in plastic, encased behind the drywall of her basement. All the victims had been shot in the back of the head." said Spencer as he thought about the smiling faces of Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

"It drove Gideon crazy that she never talked about the murders after her arrest. She never explained why she did it." said Rossi.

"And she never has." said Hotch.

"Any information on the package itself?" asked Tara.

"The package was postmarked in Roanoke. The return address was the prison. When police went to question the post office, no one could recall who sent it." said Garcia.

"OK, I'm going to ask the obvious question here, but to we really think these boys are still alive? Based on the clothes, I'd say it doesn't bode well." said JJ.

"Well, there is the timing of the package. I mean, why send it now, two years after the kidnappings, if the boys have long been dead?" asked Spencer as he ended up thinking about Albert and Daniel.

"Someone might be trying to replicate one of Antonia's crimes." said Rossi.

"The boys were too young when they were taken, but they'd be the right age now. What if Antonia's orchestrating this entire thing from behind bars?" asked Tara.

"We need to talk to her." said Hotch.

A minute later Spencer was sending Olivia a text.

ITS A LOCAL CASE IN VIRGINIA, SO I WILL BE BASED AT QUANTICO. ~ SR

* * *

After Hotch and JJ returned from the prison, Spencer was doing a linguistic analysis on the note that Antonia wrote Hotch.

"All work and no play makes Agent Hotchner a dull boy." she's always refused visitors until now. So why play a mind game?" asked Spencer as he thought about how Hotch is willing to play with his children.

"To be honest, did she really have a choice with us showing up? Maybe her silence was a form of protest." said JJ.

"It could be a gender bias. And Hotch represents the establishment. Plus I'm sure she hasn't forgotten that the BAU put her away." said Spencer as he thought about how he was working on his third PhD at Cal-tech during the time that Antonia was arrested.

"It could simply be about power and control." said Hotch.

"Now, that's true. I mean, she chose victims she could easily dominate, and even after she was arrested, she withheld information to maintain control." said Tara.

"So she needs to feel important." said JJ as Hotch looked at the note that Antonia wrote him.

"What are you thinking, Hotch?" asked Tara.

"She was writing in a notebook when I walked in. And after I introduced myself, she turned the page and wrote this." said Hotch.

"There's an imprint of what she was writing before on that note." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer as he passed him the note.

"Get that to the lab." said Hotch.

Spencer quickly left the room.

* * *

Over an hour later JJ was back with them.

"One thing I learned, she likes being in solitary. I'm pretty sure she tries to get sent there." said JJ.

"So why ask for a transfer now? She never has before." said Rossi.

"She knows she has leverage." said JJ.

"What if it's to escape? I mean, she had a road map in her cell." said Spencer.

"Well, she'd need outside help." said JJ.

"Given her devotees, that isn't hard to find. She even had inside help when she tried escaping before, from two other inmates and a new prison guard." said Rossi.

"This could be another attempt." said Spencer as JJ called Garcia.

"Penelope." said JJ.

"At your service." said Garcia as she entered the room.

"Oh. Hey, uh, did you get the mail and visitor records from the prison?" asked JJ.

"Yeah. She was not lying when she said she has mucho numeros fans. She gets about 4 to 5 letters a week, mostly from men." said Garcia.

"Who knew there were so many male hybristophiles? Has she ever written any of them back?" asked Spencer.

"No. She's only written one letter, back in 2000, to the editor of a newspaper, claiming libel. Apparently they claimed she admitted to killing those runaway teens, saying they were a scourge to society." said Garcia.

"So she's an extreme narcissist. She wants to control exactly how she's perceived." said Rossi.

"Female narcissists have a need to feel superior to others." said JJ as she read the file.

"I'd expect her to love the adulation from the groupies, so it's sort of shocking that she's ignored them all." said Spencer.

"What if she hasn't? Maybe she has sent letters back but not through official channels because she knew there'd be a record." said JJ.

"We need a list of everyone in the prison who's had regular contact with Antonia. Guards, medical personnel, other inmates before she was in solitary confinement." said Rossi as his cellphone beeped.

"I'm on that." said Garcia before leaving the room.

"Lab has an imprint of the letter Antonia was writing when Hotch showed up." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the lab with his teammates reading the blown up letter.

""When I think that proof alone will never beat faulty logic, I bleed twice, once for myself and once for the others who suffer beside me. So I rely on the sound of rain to relieve the monotony of my days."" recited Rossi before turning around, "I gotta say, it sounds pretty innocuous." said Rossi.

"Well, one thing is certain. She's writing to someone. Her letters are leaving the prison somehow." said JJ.

Spencer looked at the letter as he thought about the time he did linguistic analysis on letters only to find a cipher.

"There's something strange about this. The language feels stilted and too formal." said Spencer.

"It could be a code." said Hotch.

Spencer turned around to look at his boss.

"I agree, although it's more likely a cipher with a symmetrical key." said Spencer.

"You think you could break it?" asked Hotch as he thought about how Spencer's one of the fastest code breakers he has ever seen.

"Not yet. I'm gonna talk to her." said Spencer before leaving the room.

* * *

A while later Spencer was standing in front of Antonia's cell.

"My name is Dr. Spencer Reid. This is a copy of a letter you wrote earlier. What happened to the original?" asked Spencer sternly as he held up the copy.

Antonia chuckled as she continued to eat her lunch.

"Oh, my. You're not terribly bright, are you? I threw it out. It's been incinerated by now. Poof." said Antonia.

"I know there's a cipher in it. You wouldn't have gone to that much trouble to destroy it-" said Spencer.

"You got everyone fooled, don't you, calling yourself "doctor." said Antonia as she noticed the gold wedding band on Spencer's left ring finger.

"Who is this for, and who helped you send it?" asked Spencer more sternly.

"You're really a phony, a puffed up little fraud." said Antonia as she noticed sadness in Spencer's eyes, "Is that why you're sad?" asked Antonia.

"I know what you're doing and it won't work. You're treating us all in the opposite way that we're used to being treated because you want to throw my team off balance." said Spencer.

"You're not a complete idiot. I still think you look sad. Why is that?" asked Antonia.

"Because two boys are missing." said Spencer.

"No. It goes deeper than that. I haven't seen it in a while, but it looks very much like...Grief? Who'd you lose? Someone in your family?" asked Antonia.

Spencer thought about Taylor before Antonia spoke up again.

"A good friend?" asked Antonia.

Spencer gulped.

"Ahh. What's your friend's name?" asked Antonia.

Spencer refused to answer since he wanted to protect his big brother.

"Don't you want to know about the missing boys?" asked Antonia.

"Derek Morgan. We worked together." said Spencer softly.

"Derek Morgan. I'm guessing you have to suppress your grief around your wife and teammates because they aren't quite as affected. They didn't lose a protector, did they?" asked Antonia.

"What about the boys?" asked Spencer.

"You've lost protectors before, haven't you? That's what makes it so hard, history repeating itself." sighed Antonia, "Well, now we got that out of the way… Give me the letter." said Antonia as she made her way closer to Spencer.

Spencer held up the letter.

"Don't you want to know the cipher key? I'll show you." said Antonia as she accepted the letter through the bars before grabbing Spencer's hand causing Spencer to jump, "It's OK. Relax." said Antonia as she spit her food into Spencer's hand.

Spencer grimaced as he tried to pretend that he was having his children spit something that didn't belong in their mouths into his hand as Antonia wrote something on his hand.

"They took away my pencils. This is the man you're looking for. And by the way, in case you were wondering, those boys are still alive. For how long, I don't know." said Antonia as she patted Spencer's hand, "Off you go, little Spencer." said Antonia.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was walking in step with Hotch towards the conference room.

"She wrote "CH" in my hand, but there's no one in the mail or visitor logs with those initials. We were talking about the letter at the time, so it could have something to do with the cipher." said Spencer as he and Hotch entered the conference room.

"Hey, so we checked with the Roanoke Post Office. We showed them photos of Antonia's Virginia based fans. Still nothing." said JJ.

"Let's think about the unsub. We know he's one of her followers. It's plausible he sent the clothes to impress her." said Rossi.

"He kidnapped the boys just to get her attention?" asked Hotch.

"We talked about someone trying to replicate one of her crimes." said JJ.

"She never held two boys captive for a long period, though." said Spencer.

"No, but Antonia picked up two boys at the same time. One of them escaped. Hector Ramon. He and another runaway he befriended, Sam Meckler, called a hotline one night when the temperature dropped below freezing." said Rossi.

"Yeah. It says Hector described her as a loving mother at first." said JJ as she started reading the note, ""She made soup and sandwiches... I had a warm bed to sleep in for the first time in a year, but after a week or so, she changed. She would get mad about small things. If we left the cap off the toothpaste or spilled something, she would say, "You're old enough to understand the rules. You must atone when you break them. Pretty soon I knew she wasn't the nice lady she pretended to be, and she wouldn't let us leave." recited JJ.

"When did he escape?" asked Spencer.

"3 weeks after they arrived. His friend Sam was too scared to leave with him and ended up being Antonia's last victim." said JJ.

"We need to talk to Antonia again, but I think we've been approaching this wrong. It's time we use her rules against her." said Rossi as Garcia entered the room.

"I just talked to the prison. They're looking at inmates and personnel who've had regular contact with Antonia Slade. One guard in particular, Orel Wilbur, has had more contact than anyone. He's picked up extra shifts in units where Antonia has been held, and this week he volunteered to fill in for a sick guard in solitary." said Garcia.

"That can't be a coincidence." said Spencer before looking at Hotch, "I want to interview him personally tomorrow." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at the clock before looking at his agents who all looked tired.

"Let's all go home and you can interview Orel tomorrow." said Hotch.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer entered his house only to hear Olivia.

"I'm in the kitchen." said Olivia.

10 seconds later Spencer was in the kitchen where Olivia was heating up leftovers.

"I figured you haven't had dinner yet." said Olivia.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

"Since the kids are asleep, I will sit with you while I grade these tests." said Olivia as she gestured to the papers that she had on the kitchen island.

"I appreciate you staying up for me." said Spencer as he sat down at the kitchen island and started eating his lasagna and mixed vegetables.

"As soon as your done eating, would you like to help me grade?" asked Olivia.

"Sure." said Spencer.

10 minutes later Spencer was helping Olivia finish up on grading the tests that she gave her students before they decided to take a bubble bath together.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was pacing in the interrogation room that Orel Wilbur was in.

"Antonia Slade sent mail out of prison that was never logged. Someone had to help her do that. We have video footage of you outside of her cell yesterday, and it looks to me like you purposely blocked her view of the camera. Was that so she could slip you a letter?" asked Spencer sternly.

"It's not what you think. The letters were all harmless. I read them. I wouldn't send them if I thought they were dangerous." said Orel.

"Who were the letters for?" asked Spencer sternly as he crossed his arms while glaring at Orel.

"Different men. Her fans, I guess." said Orel.

"Why did you help her? Do you like her, romantically?" asked Spencer.

"No. I'm not one of those sickos who idolize her." said Orel.

"Well, then why do it? What do you get out of the deal?" asked Spencer sternly.

"It's complicated." said Orel.

"I think I can keep up." said Spencer.

Orel looked up at Spencer.

"Antonia has a lot of influence in the prison." said Orel.

"Other inmates respect her. They're also scared of her. Do you know what I think?" asked Spencer causing Orel to make eye contact with him, "I think there is another inmate that you do like, and Antonia protects your friend as long as you send her mail. Am I right?" asked Spencer.

Orel kept his silence as Spencer leaned forward and placed his hands onto the table.

"Yesterday you sent a letter. Who was it for?" asked Spencer.

"John Smith." said Orel.

Spencer left the room so he could tell his teammates what he gotten out of Orel.

* * *

Later on that day Rossi was looking at a picture of Antonia.

"It's important for Antonia to feel dominant. She establishes this by setting precise rules." said Rossi.

"It means she wouldn't engage in a long-term relationship with the unsub if he wasn't submissive or detail oriented enough to follow these rules." said JJ.

"Her former partner Phil Garmin filled that model perfectly. He was an accountant, who according to acquaintances, was robotic. After he met Antonia, he had no other social contacts." said Spencer as he turned away from the clear board that he posted a picture of Phil on.

"So the unsub we're looking for is very similar to Phil, a loner who is emotionally depended on Antonia and waits for her direction." said JJ as Garcia entered the room.

"OK. I have managed to narrow down the John Smiths in Virginia from 2,780 people down to 1,900 by eliminating anyone over the age of 70 and anyone under the age of 18. But I still need more parameters." said Garcia.

"John Smith has to be a pseudonym. The guard said that Antonia wrote to different men, but what if it was the same man using different aliases?" asked JJ.

"That's possible, but it doesn't hurt to keep looking. Garcia, try single men who live alone and have a profession that requires attention to detail. Healthcare, science, math." said Rossi.

"Forging ahead with surgical precision." said Garcia before leaving the room.

"Well I'm going to go work on that cipher." said Spencer.

"Let us know when you crack it." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the lab area, and as soon as he cracked the cipher he sent Hotch a text.

I JUST BROKE THE CIPHER. ~ SR

A few minutes later Hotch, Rossi, and JJ were in the room with him.

"I thought that Antonia had written the initials "CH" in my hand. What he actually wrote was "C" plus plus, which is a programming language that uses hexadecimal code, or base 16, now, that means that the unsub is most likely a programmer or at least someone who works with computers. Anyway, using an ASCII chart, you can translate between hexadecimal code and character equivalents, but the interesting thing is the entire letter isn't the message. The actual message is hidden in a single sentence that's indicated by the number underlined in the date." said Spencer as he used the laser pointer and pointed the laser at a certain area.

"So the fourth sentence." said JJ.

"Exactly. "When I think that truth alone will never beat faulty logic, I bleed twice." now, if you count the letters in each word, you get a hexadecimal code which can then be translated into characters." said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer as he thought about how glad he was that Gideon found someone as brilliant as Spencer while thinking about how brilliant Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel were going to be since they all ended up being geniuses like their parents.

"Kid, just tell us what it says." said Rossi.

""Atone full moon."" said Spencer.

"Atone on the full moon?" asked JJ.

Hotch instantly understood what Spencer meant.

"The full moon is tonight." said Hotch.

"At exactly 10:36 PM, which means we have less than 5 hours." said Spencer.

"The unsub's gonna kill those kids." said Rossi as he looked at the three other parents on his team.

"We have no idea where he is." said JJ.

"Antonia does. We have to give her what she wants." said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "Would Olivia mind if you go to Kentucky to help transfer Antonia?" asked Hotch.

"She wouldn't mind because I would be helping catch the unsub who's keeping Jimmy and Adam from their families." said Spencer.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was waiting by the SUV with Rossi as an SUV that contained Tara and Antonia showed up, and as soon as Spencer helped a chained up Antonia out of the back seat of the SUV, Spencer was guiding Antonia to the stairs of the jet while Tara followed Antonia with her gun out.

After Spencer and Rossi were given the all clear to unbuckle, Spencer was in the kitchenette with Rossi as they listened to Antonia.

"So is this the private jet for all inmates or just me?" asked Antonia.

"Well, you're not special, if that's what you're asking." said Tara.

"I don't want you to think that I'm ungrateful for this prison transfer, so I'm gonna share something with you. The man you're looking for is trying to duplicate the circumstances of the two boys I crossed paths with." said Antonia.

"Yeah, we figured that out already. You told us you'd give us his location if we transferred you." said Tara.

"I don't know exactly where he is at the moment." said Antonia.

Rossi looked at Spencer as he thought about the personal growth that happened since Morgan left.

"Other than mentioning the bluegrass hills, did she talk about any other connection to Kentucky?" asked Rossi quietly.

"She told JJ she grew up on a farm." whispered Spencer as he crossed his arms.

"She said she wants to go home, but somehow, she doesn't strike me as the sentimental type. Why the transfer?" asked a whispering Rossi.

"What if that's where the unsub is? She wants to witness the murders." said Spencer as he whipped out his phone to call Hotch who listened to him.

"All right, thanks, Reid." said Hotch before hanging up.

A short while later Antonia looked at Tara.

"You single, Dr. Lewis?" asked Antonia.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Tara.

"Just wondering if there was anybody you shared everything with. I think you're like me. Nobody really knows us." said Antonia before she spoke in German while not realizing that Spencer understood what she said, "Ich helfe Dir wenn die wahrheit sagt." said Antonia.

"Verspreche. Wenn das alles vorbei ist." said Tara while not even caring that Spencer understood what she said since she seen him read books in German.

Antonia leaned forward.

"He's bringing the children to Kentucky, right outside Lexington." said Antonia.

* * *

Spencer was walking towards Rossi who was finishing up a phone call.

"OK, Aaron, we're about to land." said Rossi before hanging up, "Where's Claude Barlow going?" asked Rossi as Spencer sat down.

"Oh, good, you know his real name. I wasn't quite sure what he goes by these days. It's always changing." said Antonia.

Spencer thought about how he ended up missing his kids bedtime so he could help escort Antonia and save Jimmy and Adam.

"It's 9:41. We don't have time for games." said Spencer sternly.

"There's no address where Claude is, but I can take you there. However, I do have one more request." said Antonia as Spencer, Tara, and Rossi exchanged glances before Rossi called Hotch.

"Undo my chains, Agent Rossi. Look at me. I can't run away." said Antonia.

"Why is it so important to you?" asked Spencer.

"A little taste of freedom. Probably the last one I'll ever have." said Antonia.

Rossi removed his phone from his ear.

"And if we don't?" asked Rossi.

"Well, you can take me straight to the new prison. I'll leave the heroics to you." said Antonia as Rossi put his phone back to his ear.

Rossi listened to what Hotch had to say before speaking.

"Understood." said Rossi as he nodded at Spencer who had the keys to Antonia's chains.

Spencer removed the keys from his pocket while Tara pulled out his Glock and pointed it at Antonia as Spencer unlocked Antonia's chains.

"Don't get comfortable. My Glock's gonna be on you the entire time." said Tara sternly.

Antonia held up her hands.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." said Antonia.

A short while later a Kevlar vest clad Spencer was off the jet as Antonia climbed down the stairs with Tara pointing her Glock at Antonia.

"Well, you got your wish. Where to?" asked Rossi.

"Take highway 60 and head east." said Antonia.

Spencer grasped the back of Antonia's orange jump suit so he could escort her to the SUV while Tara walked behind them.

"This is so exciting, I feel like one of the team right now." said Antonia as Spencer led her to an SUV.

"You shouldn't." said Tara.

"Maybe I can replace Agent Morgan." said Antonia before climbing into the back seat before Spencer closed the door.

"Ignore her, Spencer." said Tara.

"I am." said Spencer.

A short while later Rossi was driving them to the destination that Antonia gave them as Spencer's cellphone rang.

"What do you have, Hotch?" asked Spencer.

"We think he's taking them to 8879 Rincon Street." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Rossi and Tara.

"There's a possible address for Claude Barlow. 8879 Rincon Street." said Spencer.

"The New Days Clinic? He's not there." said Antonia.

"She could be playing us." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at Rossi.

"Pull over. We need to turn around." said Spencer.

"You better keep going. I'm telling you, he's not at the clinic. We used to take walks during our sessions. I'm taking you to his favorite place." said Antonia.

"Guys, it's 9:55." said Tara.

"If you go to the clinic, you're gonna miss saving those kids." said Antonia.

"Maybe that's been your intention all along." said Rossi.

"Just ahead there's a dirt road on the right. You better take that road. If you all thought I was coming here to witness the murders, why would I be going to so much trouble to miss it?" asked Antonia.

Spencer quickly thought about what Antonia said before putting his phone back to his ear.

"We're gonna keep going, Hotch." said Spencer before hanging up.

A short while later Spencer, Rossi, and an officer were going through the woods while Tara stayed with Antonia, and they entered a building that had Jimmy.

"You're ok. You're ok. We've got you." soothed Rossi as he untied Jimmy.

"There's no one else here." said Spencer.

"He took Adam." cried Jimmy.

Spencer quickly retraced his steps and headed back to Tara and Antonia.

"Show us where you would take Claude." ordered Spencer.

"Let's go." ordered Tara.

A few seconds later Tara and Antonia were out of the SUV.

"There's a trail- Devil's Backbone." said Antonia as Spencer pulled out his revolver.

"Wait! It's that way." said Antonia as she pointed at a sign.

A few seconds later Spencer was leading the way, and as soon as Spencer heard Claude he started jogging a bit while announcing himself.

"Claude Barlow, FBI, drop the weapon!" ordered Spencer.

"Where's Antonia?" asked Claude.

"Let the boy go." ordered Spencer as he pointed his gun at Claude.

"Did you bring her?" asked Claude.

"She led us to you in order to stop you. Put the gun down." ordered Spencer in a louder voice.

"Shut up! Where is she?! Antonia!" shouted Claude.

"We don't want to hurt you, Claude. Let Adam go." ordered Spencer.

"He's dead unless I see her." said Claude.

At that moment Antonia showed up.

"Hey, Claude. You came. I want you to listen real carefully. I got something to tell you. But first..." said Antonia as she grabbed Adam and pushed him towards Tara before whispering into Claude's ear before Claude committed suicide.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was off the jet at Quantico just as Antonia stepped off the jet.

"I think I smell the cherry blossoms." said Antonia.

"Yeah, me, too." said Rossi.

"You were never really gonna transfer me, were you?" asked Antonia.

"No. But you knew that, didn't you?" asked Rossi.

"I hope they haven't changed my old cell." said Antonia.

* * *

Spencer was watching the reunion with Tara and JJ.

"Jimmy Bennett's father beat the odds and actually got off drugs. He's petitioning the court to regain full custody." said Spencer as they started walking.

"There's still one thing I didn't understand. We know Antonia told Claude to send the clothes, which then got our attention, but why now?" asked JJ.

Spencer thought about how he and Olivia were planning on taking Piper and Ava to buy new play clothes since they were growing like weeds.

"The boys were getting older. He couldn't hold them much longer." said Spencer.

"And don't forget boredom. I mean, she had a really exciting couple of days there. Not to brag, but we are more scintillating company than most inmates and guards." said Tara.

Spencer looked at Tara.

"I overheard the arrangement you made with Antonia in German. You promised to tell her the truth after the case was over if she helped us out. You gonna follow through?" asked Spencer.

Tara looked at Spencer as she thought about the time they talked about being bullied which was the reason why she didn't mind speaking a language that a teammate was fluent in.

"Hell, no. Look, of all the serial killer types, the ones I find most dangerous are the hyper-intelligent ones that get off more on the mind games than the killing. They're like vampires ready to suck your soul dry and file your information away for a rainy day." said Tara.

"That's Antonia." said JJ.

"Well, we got what we wanted from her. I say we move on." said Tara.

"Well I'm ready to go join Olivia in bed since I want to spend some time with her before she has to leave for work the same time as me tomorrow since her sophomore homeroom students have standardize testing all day." said Spencer as they headed back to the bullpen.

"So is Olivia loving her job at Georgetown Day School?" asked Tara.

"She loves teaching there, and so far she has raised over $100 in the swear jar that she has for her students." said Spencer.

"Her students must really want to help people with Alzheimer's." said JJ.

"A bunch of her students have a family member with Alzheimer's." said Spencer.

"Speaking of Alzheimer's, have you figured out where you want to take your mom on vacation in six months?" asked Tara.

"Still thinking about it." said Spencer.

"How about I help you brainstorm tomorrow morning." said Tara.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he didn't even realize that the next day was going to be really hectic.

* * *

An hour and a half later, Spencer was joining Olivia in bed.

"Did you find the two boys?" asked a groggy Olivia.

"Both of them are alive." said Spencer before falling asleep.

* * *

 _A/N: Only one more episode until I start the chapters that deals with the six month time jump between The Storm and The Crimson King, and here's a warning that tissues will be needed since I am planning on Reid whump_ _and a death within the Reid family (Not Spencer, Olivia, or the kids)_ _within the next few chapters._


	28. The Storm

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 27._

 _I'm so sorry about the delay for this chapter, I've been pretty busy with babysitting and my other stories while trying to figure out how to write in Olivia and the Reid children in this chapter._

 _Since Mr. Scratch was killed in chapter 54 in Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three, let's just say that since Peter Lewis couldn't testify against Hotch so Internal Affairs talked to the therapist that Hotch saw after Mr. Scratch._

 _This chapter takes place the morning after the last chapter._

* * *

Olivia looked at her father in law.

"I hope you don't mind getting Piper, Albert, and Ava to school since I have a meeting." said Olivia.

"I don't mind at all." said William.

Olivia looked at her husband who was eating his blueberry pancakes.

"If you get a case, you will need to text me because I have standardize testing to give to my sophomore homeroom students today." said Olivia as she thought about only sophomores having to show up at school while freshman, juniors, and seniors gets the next two days off.

"Do I have to take those tests too someday?" asked Piper.

"You will sweetie, but you don't have to take your first standardize test until 2nd grade and that test will be known as Terra Nova test." said Olivia.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer exited the elevators with Tara.

"The thing is, you have to take the time or it just flies by." said Tara.

"I know." said Spencer as he thought about how big Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel were getting.

"I've heard Alaskan cruises are pretty amazing." said Tara.

"Mom has a phobia." said Spencer.

"Of water or-?" asked Tara.

"Cruise ships, specifically." said Spencer.

Tara chuckled.

"OK. But she's good to fly?" asked Tara.

"She got over her fear of flying when it came to wanting to see her grandchildren before she asked to be transferred out here." said Spencer.

"All right, so there's gotta be a place she's always mentioned she wanted to go. What's the first thing that pops into your head?" asked Tara.

"Uh, it's Paris, actually." said Spencer.

"Wow. Done. Book that." said Tara as she thought about the few conversations she had with Diana after Diana moved out here.

"You're right. Thank you." said Spencer as Garcia approached them.

"If we're talking about vacations, guess where I'm going." said Garcia.

"Hmm. To visit Emily?" asked Spencer.

Garcia laughed.

"Yes. How did you know that?" asked Garcia.

"Because nothing else would make you this excited." said Spencer.

Garcia and Tara laughed before Tara looked at Garcia.

"Have you ever been to London before?" asked Tara.

"Yes. One time, 4 years ago. It was work/slash/play. This is gonna be all play. I am leaving all my phones at home." said Garcia as Spencer gave her a look knowing that she's wrong, "You're right. That's not true. I'm going to bring them all, but I'm going to put them on airplane mode most of the time." said Garcia as a tea pot started to whistle.

"Yeah. Baby steps." said Tara.

"That's right, mate." said Garcia as she started speaking in a British accent, "Oh, I am putting the kettle on. Would anyone like a proper cup?" asked Garcia.

"Yeah." said Tara.

"Tea, which is a lot Dr. Who, you guys. No big deal." said Garcia.

Tara looked at Spencer who was fixing himself a rare cup of tea..

"Have you ever been to London?" asked Tara.

"Livy and I went there for our second honeymoon in July of 2014 when I was on medical leave after getting shot in the neck, and during our week in London we drove out to Oxford to tour Oxford University and I wasn't surprised that professors would recognize me." said Spencer.

"You are a famous academic so I am not surprised if universities around the world would recognize you." said Garcia before remembering the date being September 28th, "Excited about your 35th birthday happening in less than two weeks?" asked Garcia.

"I'm a bit excited but sad at the same time because turning 35 reminds me Piper will be five next June." said Spencer.

"I just can't believe that Piper will be five in June." said Garcia.

"Me neither, and with my mom turning 67 next year that's a big reason why Olivia and I decided that for my vacation it will just be mom and me going on a vacation." said Spencer.

"So where are you going to take your mom?" asked Garcia.

"My mom always wanted to go to Paris so I am going to take her there." said Spencer in French.

* * *

About an hour later Spencer was in the conference room with Garcia, Tara, and Rossi as he thought about his dad currently being on the way to the BAU with his kids while agents from the DC Field office is going to protect Olivia who can't leave Georgetown Day School due to standardize tests.

"Where's Hotch being held?" asked Spencer as he thought about Piper's and Daniel's godfather.

"I don't know yet. I have calls out." said Rossi as he thought about how he told Spencer to call his dad and have him bring Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel to the office while arranging agents to protect Olivia at Georgetown Day School.

"Metro SWAT took him in?" asked Tara.

"Yeah, but it has to be bigger than that." said Rossi.

"Other than my dad being on the way with my kids while Olivia will be safe at Georgetown Day School, JJ's on her way here right now. She couldn't explain everything on the phone because she's with the kids." said Spencer as he thought about how his dad and Will are going to be in charge of watching over a 10 year old, a seven year old, a four year old, three year old twins, a nearly 13 month old baby boy, and a seven month old baby boy.

"OK, maybe Hotch was swatted. That's an extreme prank that gamers pull on their opponents, where they fake a 911 call on them. It's recently escalated among celebrities." said Garcia.

"If it was a prank, they wouldn't have arrested him." said Rossi.

"Unless they didn't know. If someone called 911 and said that Hotch is a threat, SWAT has to respond. Which means somewhere there's a record of that call." said Spencer.

"Yeah, on it." said Garcia as she grabbed her laptop just as Spencer grinned when he heard a babbling Michael in JJ's arms causing him to see Jack and Henry with Will.

"Hey, guys!" exclaimed Spencer.

"Hi, Uncle Spencer." said Henry as he looked at his godfather who was wearing the same type of glasses just like him as he made his way to his godfather.

Spencer instantly scooped up Henry and twirled him around.

"Oh, hello! How are you doing, Henry?" asked Spencer as he set his godson down.

"Good. Everybody's gonna hang out at mom's work today." said Henry.

"Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel are on their way here right now too so you get to play with them." said Spencer.

"I will show Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel the magic trick you were teaching me." said Henry.

Spencer gave Henry a high five.

"Oh, that sounds super fun." said Garcia as she thought about how Rossi insisted that Spencer's kids also comes to the BAU.

Spencer looked at Jack who was quiet.

"Have you been practicing the magic trick I taught you, Jack?" asked Spencer.

"Can I go to my dad's office?" asked Jack.

"Yeah, of course." said JJ as she ran a hand through Jack's hair.

Spencer looked at Jack.

"I hope you brought some books because Piper's going to ask you to read to her." said Spencer.

"I had daddy grab books for me so I can read to Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel." said Henry.

"Here." said Will as he took his youngest from his wife, "Come on, fellas, let's go find something to get into. Come on. Come on, let's go. This way." said Will as he held Jack and Henry away.

Spencer looked at JJ.

"It's bad." said JJ.

"How much did they see?" asked Tara.

"All of it. Which is why I figured this is the safest place to bring them and your kids." said JJ as she looked at Spencer.

Rossi looked up from his phone.

"Just got word. He's downtown." said Rossi before looking at Spencer, "Your dad can use my office when it comes to your kids taking their naps." said Rossi before leaving the room.

A minute later William entered the room with Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel who were all wearing visitor badges like their grandfather.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava as they rushed towards their father.

"Excited about playing hookey from school today?" asked Spencer as he hugged each child tightly before giving them a kiss.

"Where's uncle Aaron and Papa Dave?" asked Piper as she looked around for her godfather.

"Something happened that caused him to be held up so that's why you, your siblings, Jack, Henry, and Michael are staying here in protective custody." said Spencer.

"A bad guy is after uncle Aaron?" asked Piper.

"Yes." said Spencer before taking a deep breath and looked at his three oldest kids, "I need you three to listen to your grandpa and uncle Will, and when I talked to mommy earlier she said that she will be coming here when she's done at school." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Spencer looked at his youngest son who was on his grandpa's hip.

"Hey there little man." said Spencer.

"Dada." smiled Daniel as he squirmed in his grandpa's arms causing Spencer to take his son.

"You get to play with Michael." said Spencer as he blew a raspberry on Daniel's stomach.

Daniel happily squealed causing Tara, JJ, and Garcia to smile at Daniel's antics.

"Can I go play with Jack and Henry?" asked Piper.

"You sure can goober." said Spencer.

"I need to go potty, daddy." said Albert.

"Then let's take you to the bathroom, buckaroo." said Spencer causing JJ to look at Piper and Ava.

"Do you two girls need to use the bathroom before you go play with Jack, Henry, and Michael?" asked JJ.

"Yes." said Piper.

"Yes." said Ava.

Tara looked at JJ.

"I'll deal with Ava while you deal with Piper?" asked Tara as she scooped up the three year old girl.

"Yes." said JJ as she hoisted up her four year old goddaughter, "I just can't believe how big your getting." said JJ.

10 minutes later Henry was reading to Piper, Albert, and Ava while Michael and Daniel happily played together with Will while William sat by Hotch's desk with Jack.

* * *

20 minutes later Spencer was listening to the recording of the 911 call.

"Today will change everything." said Hotch.

"I'm sorry, sir. Will you repeat that, please?" asked the operator.

"Today will change everything." said Hotch through the laptop before Garcia turned off the recording.

"How did they do that?" asked Garcia.

"Spoofing tech makes it seem like it's coming from Hotch's cell and using his voice. That takes skill." said Garcia.

"It's subtle, but his inflection changes. It sounds like the words are spliced together." said Spencer.

"Let's look up all BAU press conferences led by Hotch." said JJ.

Garcia started typing.

"Right, maybe this unsub Frankensteined his voice." said Garcia just as Rossi entered the room.

"He's being held by the DOJ, the Inspector General's office." said Rossi.

"That makes sense. It's the Internal Affairs of the parent agency of the Bureau. They probably heard what we heard." said Tara.

"They should be defending him, not charging him." said JJ.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was showing which press conferences were used.

"With these 3 press conferences, we can prove to the Inspector General's office that Hotch's 911 call was spliced together." said Spencer as he sat down next to Tara.

"That's a good start, but they're not gonna listen to anything we have to say until we give them a viable suspect." said Rossi.

"Especially with explosives in play. They planted enough on Hotch to make it look like he was ready to blow up a city block." said JJ.

"OK, back to basics. Someone's framing Hotch. Who would want to?" asked Rossi.

"He's put away a lot of people. We've seen the lengths that Chaz Montolo went to against Morgan for revenge. We shouldn't underestimate anything." said Spencer.

JJ looked through the window and saw the room where her husband and Spencer's father were supervising the children.

"Not even Montolo could pull this off. This is multi-faceted, calculated for maximum disruption. Attacking Hotch in his home, separating him from us." said JJ.

"We should focus on unsubs that are sophisticated enough to carry of this coordinated of an attack. How are you doing with the cell spoofing technology?" asked Tara as she looked at Garcia.

"OK, there's a few of them. If you were gonna go down and dirty, that would be Shadow Cell. There's other, higher-end apps- Spoof Me, the Storm, Gamercall-" said Garcia as Tara perked up.

"Wait. What was that middle one, the Storm?" asked Tara.

"Yeah. Why?" asked Garcia.

"That was Antonia's message to Hotch." said JJ.

Spencer thought about the phone call he had with Hotch before he went to bed.

"There's a storm coming, and you'll be swept away."" recited Spencer.

"I don't know about you, but this feels like a massive storm." said JJ.

"It can't be a coincidence." said Rossi.

"Yeah, but there's no way she could have pulled this off from inside prison." said Tara.

"But she knew about it enough to toy with Hotch." said Spencer.

"Anybody want to go slap that smirk off her face?" asked Tara as her teammates noticed the anger lacing in her voice.

"Yeah, she's been pulling strings since we met her. She wanted the BAU's attention, but why?" asked JJ.

"Her narcissism." said Tara.

"We each spent time with her, a lot of it. But she didn't mention the storm until Hotch went back to question her again." said JJ.

"It was a retort, after Hotch exposed her past." said Spencer.

"And her son." said JJ.

Rossi looked at his teammates.

"JJ I want you to go talk to Antonia." said Rossi.

"OK." said JJ as she got up and left the room.

* * *

JJ was showing a picture of a man.

"This is Antonia's son. His name's Asher Douglas. He lives in northern Virginia." said JJ.

"Early 40s is old for a swatter." said Spencer.

"But he's a match in every way that counts. He purchased the Storm spoofing software, he bought several audio splicing programs." said Garcia.

"And that's how he was able to make calls from Hotch's cell and sound like him." said Tara.

Spencer read the file as he thought about something not fitting.

"Something about this doesn't fit." said Spencer.

"It fits enough for me. Let's go." said Rossi.

A few seconds later Spencer was leaving the conference room with Rossi, JJ, Tara, and Garcia as he spoke.

"Swatting can fall in the spectrum of online psychopathy. Men who express violent anti-social tendencies from behind a screen that the would never express in public. But their patterns mirror that of a traditional psychopath, and specifically the fact that they get bored easily. Which makes me think we'd see evidence of that in his browser history, but you didn't." said Spencer as they waited for the elevator.

"I thought he was covering his tracks." said Garcia.

"Even if you're right, it doesn't change the fact that he made the 911 call. We have to arrest him. Hotch is depending on us." said JJ as Spencer held the door open to allow his teammates in before he got in himself.

* * *

Spencer entered Asher's house with Rossi and SWAT agents, and a few seconds later he saw Asher sitting by a computer.

"Turn around show me your hands. Whatever you're holding, drop it." ordered the SWAT captain as Spencer and Rossi flanked him with their guns out.

"But then it will break." said a stuttering Asher causing Spencer to look around the room and realize that Asher was definitely autistic like him and Ava.

"Drop it or I will shoot you." said the captain as he cocked his gun, "I said drop it!" ordered the captain.

Spencer instantly knew that he needed to intervene as he put down his gun.

"Wait, hold! Everyone hold." ordered Spencer as he looked at Asher, "Asher, if you show us what you're holding and it isn't dangerous, we'll let you keep it." said Spencer.

"Why would it be dangerous?" asked Asher.

"Because we're with the police and we have to be prepared for the worst." said Spencer said Spencer gently as he thought about that he knew that as soon as he became a parent that there will be a chance that he could never go home to his kids again.

"You're not the police. You're with the Federal Bureau of Investigations. You're Dr. Spencer Reid. You're supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. I researched all of you to decide who would be the best one to SWAT, before landing on Agent Aaron Hotchner, since he is the team leader, obviously." said Asher.

Spencer looked at Asher.

"Can I see what's in your hands?" asked Spencer gently.

"Yeah." said Asher as he started to lower his hands.

"Slowly." ordered the SWAT captain.

Asher opened his hands as Spencer holstered his revolver as he made his way to Asher.

"They're, um, my version of the A-9 chip, only mine are better." said Asher.

"Can you set them down so we can talk?" asked Spencer.

"Sure." said Asher as he put the chips down.

Spencer pulled out his handcuffs as he continued to make his way to Asher with his handcuffs..

"I need to put these on you, ok? But it's for your own protection. OK." said Spencer gently.

"Yeah." said Asher as he allowed Spencer to handcuff him.

"There, let's go." said Spencer as he helped Asher stand out and handed him to the SWAT captain who led him out of the room.

"We should secure the house, but we're not gonna find anything else here. Best hope is to get him talking, but that could be tough." said Spencer softly.

"Why?" asked Rossi.

"Well, he displays both collecting behavior and unique dysgraphia traits in his handwriting. I'm pretty sure he's autistic." said Spencer softly.

"Just like you and Ava." said Rossi.

Spencer nodded before he started to brief Rossi, JJ, and Tara about Asher.

"We're looking at a case of counterfeit deviance. If Asher is autistic, he has trouble reading social cues." said Spencer as he thought about how he struggles with social cues.

"Yeah, but in this case we're dealing with somebody high-functioning." said Tara as she thought about Spencer telling her that he's high functioning.

"What used to be labeled Asperger's syndrome." said Spencer.

"And that's where the counterfeit deviance comes in." said Tara.

"Documented examples include high-functioning autistics who collect child porn or pretend to plan a school shooting. They know that there's power in those images and those actions, but for them there's no paraphilia behind it. They don't derive pleasure from it. What I don't see is evidence of someone who's interested in explosives. We need to rule out-" rambled Spencer.

"That someone is pulling his strings just like he's been pulling ours." said JJ.

"Exactly. I'd like to-" said Spencer.

Rossi instantly understood what Spencer wanted to do.

"Go. Just do it. And hurry." said Rossi.

Spencer headed to the room where Asher was sitting, and after removing his Kevlar vest he sat across from Asher.

"I'm going to jail, aren't I?" asked Asher.

"Not if you cooperate." said Spencer.

"All right. I did it. All of it." said Asher quickly.

"See, I don't think you did. Even the way you just said that sort of sounds to me like someone who's maybe protecting a partner." said Spencer.

"Would a partner have the skill set to splice Agent Aaron Hotchner's voice into a 911 call? Something no gamer's ever done before? No. I did that. Me." said Asher.

Spencer thought about his PhD in chemistry.

"How much do you know about nitromethane?" asked Spencer.

"It's the simplest organic nitro compound. It has an R.E. factor of 1.1. That's its relative effectiveness compared to-" rambled Asher.

"TNT? Right?" asked Spencer.

Asher nodded.

"Have you ever bought it?" asked Spencer.

"No point. What would I do with it?" asked Asher.

"Well, when Agent Hotchner was arrested, they found that he had bought some. I think it was planted on him, and I don't think you would do that." said Spencer.

Asher slammed his handcuffed hands onto his lap.

"I get- this isn't self-harm." said Asher as he continued to slap his hands against his lap.

"OK." said Spencer.

"I used to do that. I don't do it anymore. Instead I do this." said Asher as he continued to slap his hands.

"To control how you feel when you get confused?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Asher.

"You know, I get confused a lot, too, Asher. It's actually one of the reasons I decided to study behavioral analysis. And I don't think my friend would buy 40 gallons of nitromethane. But yours might." said Spencer.

Asher slammed his hands against his lap.

"40 gallons?" asked Asher.

"Does that mean something to you?" asked Spencer.

Asher exhaled out a groan.

"Yeah. We talked about it once. How much of a city you could wipe out with 40 gallons. It was a hypothetical, like if you had the biggest chemistry set in the world." said Asher.

Spencer gave Asher a look that he gave to his kids when they were doing something wrong.

"I don't think it was a hypothetical, Asher." said Spencer.

"He lied to me." said Asher.

"He did. Help me, and I'll make sure that never happens again." said Spencer.

Asher gave Spencer a name, a few minutes later they were talking to Garcia.

"If I can direct your attention to Rossi's phone, I will introduce you to Eric Rawdon. He has had multiple IRC chats with Asher until he was arrested for criminal conspiracy." said Garcia.

"Conspiracy with who?" asked Rossi.

"Well, it looks like a bunch of anarchists. Rawdon isn't necessarily an anarchist himself, but he did want to make something go boom." said Garcia.

"So he's charismatic, duplicitous. I mean, he'd have to be to persuade a bunch of anarchists to rally around him." said Tara.

"What's the overlap with Hotch?" asked JJ.

"Our gone but not forgotten and soon to be recovered Sir Hotchner wrote up up a profile on Rawdon, which he defended in court." said Garcia.

"And this is revenge." said Spencer.

"No, we know it's bigger than that." said Rossi.

"But there's no way Rawdon could have pulled this off while in prison. Garcia, what was the last contact Rawdon had with Asher?" asked JJ.

"Uh, emails from last week. The IP addresses are from all over the state, but none from Virginia super Max prison where Rawdon currently resides." said Garcia.

"So someone else took over the account, or multiple someones depending on who's still supporting Rawdon." said Tara.

"I'm gonna add "word" to the end of Tara's last sentiment, because whoever is sending these emails has gone hog wild over the last 12 hours, and the message is always the same- "the storm breaks tonight. Get his bed ready."" said Garcia.

"That's reminiscent of the emails the 911 hijackers sent to each other, weeks before the attack. Coded messages like, "this summer will surely be hot." It was their way of saying the plan is set." said Spencer.

"Except this is "the storm breaks tonight." He's planning a prison break." said Rossi.

Everyone's eyes went wide.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was in the back seat of an SUV heading towards Red Onion.

"That's affirmative, Agent Rossi. The riot just started here in VA Max." said Warden Nabb over the phone..

"Focus all your efforts on finding Rawdon. We need him alive." instructed Rossi.

"Has anyone escaped?" asked Spencer.

"We don't know. We're still trying to secure the prison." said Warden Nabb.

"OK, warden, we're 5 minutes out." said Rossi.

"Guys, the swatting, the reference to Asher- this is exactly the larger plan we profiled." said Tara.

"It worked. Rawdon has another group he's been working from the inside. By the time we clear Hotch, they'll be gone." said JJ.

* * *

Spencer exited the SUV while Warden Nabb approached Rossi.

"SSA Rossi." said Rossi as he shook hands with the warden who was wearing a bullet proof vest.

"Warden Nabb. Your call came in, it's too late, Agent." said Warden Nabb.

"Have you located Eric Rawdon?" asked Spencer.

Warden Nabb looked at Spencer.

"Not yet. The rioters still control 3 blocks, and the fires inside have spread us thin." said Warden Nabb.

"Warden, this isn't a riot. It's a break." said Tara.

"They'll never get over the wall." said Warden Nabb.

"They may have some other way out. Every part of this plan has been meticulously crafted." said JJ.

"We got a distress call that some of the prisoners got to the gun safe." said Warden Nabb.

"First priority is to secure the control room." said the SWAT agent before walking away.

Spencer, JJ, and Tara followed the SWAT captain into the prison, and they started clearing a cell block when a SWAT agent spoke up.

"Got one!" shouted a SWAT agent.

"Where are the others? How are they getting out?" demanded Tara.

The prisoner pressed his finger to his lip and made a quiet noise before everyone heard some running causing them to turn to the sound.

"Freeze!" shouted JJ.

Spencer ended up chasing after the prisoner who shot at them causing Spencer to take cover while the prisoner was killed before JJ heard some noise causing her to quiet everyone down.

"You got a flashlight?" asked JJ.

The SWAT captain passed JJ a tunnel causing her to find a tunnel.

"Captain, we got a tunnel." said JJ.

Tara grabbed the mike on her vest.

"Rossi, we got a tunnel in C-block along the sewer line on the east wall." said Tara, and a few minutes later Rossi told them that they got a couple.

"Including Rawdon?" asked Tara before hearing silence.

The SWAT captain looked at two of his agents.

"Kershaw and Bring, you stay here in case more prisoners come back through." said the captain before looking at Spencer, JJ, and Tara, "We should keep moving to the control room."

"We should also sweep E-block. Rawdon could be holed up there." said Spencer.

"Captain, I'll stay on your six." said Tara.

"Fine by me. Just watch your front sight." said the captain before Spencer went with JJ and a few other SWAT agents.

A few minutes later Spencer was clearing a block with JJ when they heard Tara through their mikes.

"JJ, Reid, backup now!" exclaimed Tara into their ears as they heard a gun shot.

"On our way." said JJ as she motioned Spencer to follow her.

A few seconds later prisoners in SWAT agent uniforms started shooting at Spencer and JJ causing them to dive into cells and start firing back at them, and less than a minute later Spencer and JJ heard more gun shots and Hotch's voice.

"Flash-bang!" shouted Hotch.

As soon as the flash-bang went off, Spencer and JJ exited the cells to join Hotch as they pointed their guns at the prisoners who were still alive.

"Where's the bomb?" demanded Hotch.

"You'll never stop it in time. Boom." said Rawdon.

"Last time you were going to assemble them in one of 3 locations, and you're too compulsive to deviate. Arlington, but they're looking for you there. Appomattox county is too far away. They're at the Ivory Tower." said Hotch as he pulled out his phone.

"What? That's not true!" shouted Rawdon.

"What's the Ivory Tower?" asked Tara.

"A safe house for fundamentalist groups." said JJ.

"Garcia, we got a location. I need you to give it to all available SWAT resources." ordered Hotch.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was shooting at Rawdon's gang while using the SUV to protect himself from bullets, and when the helicopter exploded Spencer ducked for cover before taking in the sight of the helicopter that was on fire.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer headed to Rossi's office with Tara and Spencer smiled when he saw Olivia with his dad and his sleeping kids.

"You OK?" asked Olivia.

"Yeah, and I will tell you what happened later when we're away from little ears." said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss, "And hopefully today's events are over." said Spencer.

Tara looked at Spencer.

"With what we dealt with today, can I please stay in your guest bedroom tonight since we're heading to Rossi's tomorrow night for dinner?" asked Tara.

"Sure." said Olivia as she looked at her four sleeping babies, "I guess you can help get the kids into my SUV." said Olivia.

During the next three minutes Spencer, Olivia, William, and Tara each took charge of a sleeping child and when they exited Rossi's office, Rossi looked at the four adults who each had a child while carrying the kids activity bags.

"You guys got the kids?" asked Rossi as he headed to Spencer and made sure that Piper was securely on Spencer's back.

"We got them, and Tara's staying in our guest bedroom tonight while the kids sleep with Livy and me." said Spencer quietly.

"After what we went through this evening, I don't blame you for wanting to keep the kids close to you." said Rossi as he gave each sleeping child a kiss before the seven Reids and Tara headed to the elevators.

* * *

The next evening Rossi grinned when he saw Spencer holding both Piper and Ava on his hips, Olivia having Daniel on her hip, while Tara had Albert on her hip before looking at his two teammates and Olivia who were all holding the kids.

"And there they are. Please, come in." said Rossi.

All three adults stepped inside with the kids.

"Spence, Tara, and Olivia this is Hayden Montgomery." said Rossi.

Tara looked at Hayden and started speaking in French.

"Vous parlez francais tres bien, madame." replied Hayden in French before looking at Rossi, "She's my favorite so far." said Hayden.

Spencer looked at Hayden.

"This is my wife of over five years Olivia and our four children." said Spencer as he introduced each child while giving their age while each child politely said hello to Hayden.

"They're so adorable." cooed Hayden as she took in the sight of Piper and Ava wearing matching party dresses while Albert and Daniel both wore dress pants, white dress shirts, and sweater vests just like their father.

"This way." said Rossi as he motioned the family of six and Tara to follow him.

Two minute later Spencer grinned as he watched Piper, Albert, and Ava hug Hotch and after his three oldest went to play with Jack and Henry, Spencer headed over to Hotch.

"All four kids ended up sleeping with Livy and I last night because I wanted to keep them close, and Livy and I allowed Piper, Albert, and Ava to miss school today while Tara helped my dad and I deal with the kids." said Spencer.

"I don't blame you because Jack missed school again today too since I wanted to take advantage of our day off." said Hotch.

Spencer felt his hands being tugged by Jack and Henry before seeing Jack, Henry, and his three oldest all looking at him.

"What's up?" asked Spencer as he ended up kneeling down to the kids eye level.

"Can you please do a magic show for us?" asked Jack.

"Can you daddy?" asked Piper before using the opportunity of her daddy kneeling to jump onto his back.

A laughing Spencer grinned at his wife and teammates.

"I guess I am on entertaining the children duty until dinner's done." said Spencer before grinning at Jack, Henry, Albert, and Ava, "Go over there while I grab what I need." said Spencer as he pointed where he wanted everyone to sit.

"Yay!" cheered Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Spencer looked at the adults as he stood up to his full height while Piper remained on his back.

"Anyone want to watch?" asked Spencer as he adjusted his oldest daughter's legs.

"I will." said Garcia.

"Me too." said Olivia as she adjusted Daniel on her hip.

"What about you uncle Aaron?" asked Piper.

"I'm definitely going to watch from a distance." said Hotch as he smiled at the sight of his goddaughter on her daddy's back.

"I'll watch from a distance." said JJ.

A few minutes later Spencer was standing by Garcia, Olivia, Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel doing a card trick.

"Keep your eyes on him. He's very sneaky with his cards." said Garcia as Olivia who had Daniel on her lap winked at her.

"There's nothing sneaky about it. It is merely magic." said Spencer before looking at Jack, "I need you to blow on this card, please." said Spencer.

Jack blew on his deck of cards before Spencer looked at Henry.

"You blow." said Spencer.

Henry blew before Spencer looked Piper.

"You blow, Piper." said Spencer.

Piper blew on the card before Spencer pulled a card and looked at his oldest daughter.

"And this is your card." asked Spencer.

"No, daddy." said Piper.

"That's not your card?" asked a surprised Spencer before looking at his deck again,

"Wait. Hold on. OK." said Spencer before doing a few hand moments and held up a card, "This is your card." said Spencer.

Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, and Ava were all grinning.

"No." chorused Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Are you serious? That's not your card?" asked Spencer as he started fanning through the deck before looking at Garcia, "Hold on. Oh..." said Spencer as he revealed a card from behind Garcia's ear.

"Is that your card?" asked Spencer.

"Ohh!" squealed Garcia as Olivia, Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, and Ava all smiled. "How did you do that?!" exclaimed Garcia.

"A magician never reveals his secrets." said Piper before looking at her daddy, "When are you going to teach me magic tricks like you do for Jack and Henry?" asked Piper.

"As soon as you turn five I will start teaching you, goober." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper.

Spencer stood up and looked at his wife who had Daniel on his lap.

"Wait. Wait, don't move." said Spencer as he put his hands onto Olivia's light brown hair and pulled something out, "Oh, no." exclaimed Spencer.

"What? What?" asked a surprised Olivia.

"Oh, my God, you have something in your hair!" exclaimed Spencer as he pulled out a long ribbon causing all the kids and Garcia to laugh while Olivia enjoyed watching her husband's eyes twinkle.

Olivia was laughing as her husband continued to pull ribbon out of her hair.

"Daddy sure is silly." said Olivia as she tickled her baby boy's belly causing Daniel to giggle.

"Holy guacamole!" exclaimed Spencer before he used the ribbon to make him fall onto his back while Piper looked at Albert, Ava, Jack, and Henry.

"Tickle daddy." said Piper.

A few seconds later Spencer was laughing while being tickled by five kids who were all laughing, and after being tickled for two minutes Olivia looked at the kids.

"I think he has had enough." said Olivia.

At that moment all five kids stopped tickling Spencer who winked at his wife.

"Thanks, Livy." said Spencer as Rossi came over.

"Dinner will be dine in five minutes so its time to wash up." said Rossi.

10 minutes later Olivia decided to sit on her husband's lap.

"I hope you don't mind me sitting here." said Olivia.

Spencer blushed causing some laughter.

"Just don't move around too much." whispered Spencer into Olivia's ear.

Olivia instantly blushed causing Garcia to look at Olivia.

"What did Spencer say to you to make you blush?" asked Garcia.

"I'm not saying because of little ears." said Olivia before whispering into Spencer's ear, "Just for that I have plans for you when we get the kids to bed." purred Olivia causing Spencer to blush.

* * *

After the food was gone and the older children were running while Daniel and Michael slept; Spencer, Olivia, Hotch, Garcia, JJ, Will, Tara, Rossi, and Hayden all exchanged funny stories while occasional toasts were made before Hotch's and Garcia's phones vibrated causing Olivia to get off her husband's lap so Spencer could go into the house with his teammates.

As soon as Rossi shut the door, Tara looked at Hotch and Garcia.

"What is it now?" asked Tara.

"3 more prison breaks in 3 different states, all organized by Rawdon's partners from his last bombing attempt." said Hotch seriously.

"The local field office got a head start because of what we did. They stopped the bomb threat, but-" said Garcia.

"Who didn't they catch?" asked Rossi.

"All have serial killer wings just like VA Max." said Hotch.

"Let me guess. They were released first to cause maximum chaos and occupy law enforcement." said Tara.

"A lot of them were killed or recaptured, but not all of them." said Garcia.

"How many got away?" asked JJ.

"12 serial killers." said Garcia.

"So we have to catch those 12." said Hotch just as there was a knock revealing Olivia.

"Piper, Albert, and Ava fell asleep so we should head home Spencer." said Olivia as she took in her husband's serious face, "A case?" asked Olivia.

Spencer shook his head.

"After the kids are in bed I will need to sit down with you and dad." said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "I'll see you guys tomorrow." said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Tara.

"You can stay here tonight." said Rossi.

"Thanks." said Tara.

* * *

Over an hour and a half later Spencer and Olivia were sitting in the living room with William.

"So what do you need to tell us?" asked Olivia.

Spencer started recounting the conversation, and when he was finished he looked at his wife and father.

"As soon as I know who all escaped, I will have you two, Piper, Albert, and Ava memorize those 12 serial killers faces because I don't know if any of them will target me." said Spencer.

"That will be helpful." said Olivia.

"At least I made sure that Piper, Albert, and Ava start learning how to defend themselves." said Spencer before yawning.

"We should get to bed." said Olivia.

"Good night." said William.

"Good night, dad." said Spencer and Olivia in unison.

10 minutes later Spencer and Olivia were fast asleep in their bed.


	29. Spencer Turns 35 and Halloween

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 28._

 _Sorry for this chapter being short, but I promise that the next chapter will be longer._

* * *

As Spencer was packing up to go home for the weekend, Rossi approached him.

"Here's an early birthday present that will only be good for tomorrow afternoon." said Rossi.

"May I open it?" asked Spencer as he looked at the envelope.

"Go ahead." said Rossi.

A few seconds later Spencer was looking at a gift certificate for a two hour long photo session with the photographer that Spencer and Olivia takes their kids to.

"Livy and I were talking about seeing a photographer soon since we haven't had professional family portraits done since Daniel was three months old." said Spencer.

"Now you can get those photos taken before going to the portrait studio again for the photos that will be taken for your Christmas cards." said Rossi.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

"Now go home to your beautiful wife and kids and I will see you on your birthday on Sunday." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the elevator.

* * *

The next day the photographer looked at the family of six who were all color coordinated.

"Smile." said the photographer as he made funny faces to get Daniel to smile.

Four seconds later the photographer was taking a picture of the six Reids before he made sure to take other series of shots that Spencer and Olivia told him to take.

* * *

Later on that night at 12:15 AM Spencer walked back into the master bedroom from checking on Daniel when Olivia came out of the master bathroom.

"Daniel back asleep?" asked Olivia.

"He needed a clean diaper." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at the time before smiling at her husband.

"Happy birthday." said Olivia as she made her way to her husband, "I say that we start kicking off your birthday with some mommy and daddy time because its a school night for both of us after we celebrate your birthday later on today." said Olivia as she started to remove her husband's t-shirt before trailing kisses down his lean muscular chest.

A few seconds later Spencer and Olivia were passionately making out in bed.

* * *

Six hours later Olivia looked at her three oldest babies while she had seven month old Daniel strapped to her chest.

"Let's go wake up daddy." said Olivia quietly as she worked on unstrapping Daniel from his baby carrier so her youngest could crawl over to his daddy.

30 seconds later Spencer woke up to being given kisses by a 40 pound girl, a 35 pound girl, a 36 pound boy, and a 20 pound baby boy.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!" shouted Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Spencer opened up his eyes and grabbed his glasses and slipped them on before smiling at his four babies.

"Thank you guys." said Spencer as he playfully grabbed his daughters in each arm and held him close while Daniel crawled up onto his daddy's chest.

"Dada." said Daniel as he started babbling away.

"Happy birthday, honey." said Olivia as she leaned forward to give her husband a kiss, "Keep the natives entertained while I go grab breakfast since we're eating in here." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer before looking at his three oldest, "So what did you three munchkins plan for us to do after Mass?" asked Spencer.

"Visit grandma and go to the park." said Piper.

"We'll visit grandma if she's having a good day." said Spencer as he thought about how the kids sometimes gets upset when their grandma doesn't remember who they are.

A few minutes later Piper, Albert, and Ava were eating their breakfast while Olivia fed her husband and herself while Spencer fed Daniel his baby food before the family of six started getting ready to go to Mass.

* * *

After Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel had their early afternoon naps Olivia looked at her husband.

"While your dad and I help the kids get out of their Sunday best, I want you to go into our bedroom and put on a pair of jeans while opening up the gift bag that contains the shirt I want you to wear this afternoon before we dress up again for your birthday dinner at Dave's." said Olivia.

"Yes ma'am." said Spencer.

20 minutes later Spencer was shaking his head at the t-shirt that Olivia got for him, and over 10 minutes later Spencer was grinning a Piper's, Albert's, and Ava's t-shirts that said ITS MY DADDY'S BIRTHDAY TODAY while Daniel was wearing a onesie and jeans that also said ITS MY DADDY'S BIRTHDAY.

"Really Livy?" asked Spencer as he looked at his wife who was wearing a shirt saying ITS MY HUSBAND'S BIRTHDAY TODAY.

"Its your special day." said Olivia.

"I already called the hospital and mom's having a good day so one of the nurses is getting her ready." said Spencer.

"Then let's go pick her up." said Olivia as the family of six headed downstairs to find William who was wearing a t-shirt that said ITS MY SON'S BIRTHDAY TODAY packing a picnic basket with snacks, juice boxes, and bottles of water.

"I take it that mom's wearing a similar t-shirt today too?" asked Spencer.

"Just wait and see." smiled Olivia as she gave her husband another kiss.

"That's nine." said Spencer.

"Just remember that your getting a total of 35 kisses from me by the end of the day." said Olivia as she smoothed out her husband's curly hair before getting Daniel settled into his car seat.

* * *

A half hour later Diana looked at her baby boy who was wearing a t-shirt that said BIRTHDAY BOY.

"Happy birthday, baby." said Diana as she hugged her 35 year old son.

"Thanks mom." said Spencer as he took in the sight of his mother wearing a denim skirt and the same t-shirt as his father, "You didn't have to wear this t-shirt." said Spencer.

"When Olivia told me her plan, I decided to go for it after Piper, Albert, and Ava all showed me their puppy dog eyes while pouting." said Diana.

Spencer shook his head while Diana looked at her grandchildren.

"So where are we going?" asked Diana.

"We are going to the park." said Piper as she ran to hug her grandma.

Diana hugged her oldest granddaughter who had her hair pulled into fishtail braids.

"Going to the park seems like a lovely idea." said Diana.

"Can you please push me on the swing?" asked Albert.

"I will love too Albert." said Diana as she hugged her oldest grandson, "You look so much like your daddy." said Diana.

"I saw pictures of daddy at three." said Albert.

Ava looked at her grandma.

"You push me on the swing too?" asked Ava.

Diana hugged her youngest granddaughter.

"I will make sure to push each of you on the swing." said Diana.

"And mommy and I will go on the teeter totter with you munchkins." said Spencer.

A few minutes later the three generations of Reids were heading to the park.

* * *

A half hour later Diana and William were sitting on a nearby park bench laughing as they watched their son, daughter in law, and four grandchildren have fun on the teeter totter.

"I'm glad that I am well enough to enjoy this day." said Diana.

"Me too, Diana." said William as he smiled as he heard his son, daughter in law, and grandchildren laughing.

"Seems like they're going to do something else." said Diana as she noticed that Spencer and Olivia were helping their children get off the teeter totter.

"Should we join them?" asked William.

Diana nodded.

Five minutes later Spencer, Olivia, Diana, and William were each pushing a child on the swing.

* * *

An hour later all eight Reids were enjoying their snacks on a blanket when an elderly woman came over to them.

"Would you like me to take a family picture for you?" asked the woman.

Spencer and Olivia looked at each other before Diana spoke up.

"I would love a picture of us taken so I can have a souvenir to remember my son's birthday." said Diana.

Olivia quickly reached into the picnic basket and grabbed her digital camera, and a minute later the woman was taking a picture of the three generations of Reids together before looking at Spencer.

"Happy birthday young man, and enjoy spending the rest of the day with your family." said the woman before walking away.

* * *

Four hours later Spencer grinned when he saw his aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon talking to Rossi and Hayden.

"I didn't know that you two would show up today." said Spencer as he gave his aunt and uncle a hug.

"Andrew wanted to make it, but you know that Joanna's on bed rest." said Gordon as he thought about his daughter in law who was currently 28 weeks pregnant with his first grandson.

"Its OK because I talked to him earlier." said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer causing him to think back to meeting 26 year old Spencer.

"Happy birthday, Spencer." said Rossi as he gave Spencer a kiss on each kiss.

"Thanks." said Spencer before looking at Hayden, "Hayden, I would like to introduce you to my parents Diana and William Reid." said Spencer.

Hayden looked at William and Diana.

"When I met your son two weeks ago, I have to say that you raised him to be a wonderful young man." said Hayden as she shook hands with Spencer's parents.

"Your a mother yourself?" asked Diana.

"I do have a daughter and a five year old grandson." said Hayden.

"You must show me pictures of your grandson and I will show you pictures of Spencer as a baby." said Diana as she thought about the photo album that she insisted on bringing.

"Mom." groaned Spencer as his face heated up causing laughter.

Piper looked up at her daddy.

"Everyone saw pictures of you as a baby when you and mommy got married a second time." said Piper causing even more laughter.

"Second time?" asked Hayden as she watched Spencer swoop up his daughter and got her onto his back.

Rossi looked at Hayden.

"Spencer and Olivia did a vow renewal to celebrate their five year wedding anniversary last month, and the vow renewal happened in this backyard." said Rossi.

"And it was a beautiful ceremony." said Diana.

Olivia looked at her mother in law.

"When you and Spencer had that mother and son dance, there wasn't a dry eye in this backyard." said Olivia as she hugged her mother in law.

"That moment almost made me cry." said Morgan as he, Savannah, and little Hank approached them.

Albert and Ava grinned when they saw their godfather.

"Uncle Derek!" shouted Albert and Ava as they ran to their godfather.

"You two are getting so big." said Morgan as he swooped up the twins and hugged them tight while Spencer jogged over with Piper on his back.

"Hi uncle Derek." said Piper.

Morgan looked at the four year old girl.

"Hi Piper." said Morgan.

"Its daddy's birthday." said Piper.

"That's why I showed up since I couldn't miss his birthday." said Morgan as he set the Reid twins down.

Spencer swung Piper off his back, and a minute later Piper was running over to her godfather who arrived with Jack.

"Happy birthday, old man." said Morgan as he gave Spencer a hug.

"I'm only in my mid-thirties while your in your mid-forties." teased Spencer.

"If I wasn't a stay at home dad, I would have gotten you back at work tomorrow." said Morgan as he ruffled Spencer's hair.

"I do miss our prank wars." said Spencer.

"And I miss hearing your statistics every day." said Morgan as he passed Hank to Spencer.

"Your definitely growing." said Spencer as he gave his namesake a kiss on the cheek.

"He constantly tires me out." said Morgan.

"The first couple of months are the hardest, but you should enjoy Hank being small because before you know it Hank will be going to school just like Piper, Albert, and Ava are." said Spencer.

"Has Piper, Albert, and Ava been dealing with any trouble with kids being jealous of their intelligence?" asked Morgan.

"A few kids have been jealous, and it helps that a few of Piper's friends from gymnastics are in the same class as her." said Spencer.

"What about the mention of them skipping any grades?" asked Morgan.

"Their teachers are understanding that Livy and I don't want them to skip any grades until they're older, so they are working with other teachers to help challenge them." said Spencer.

"That's good." said Morgan as Olivia came over to Spencer and gave him another kiss.

"That's 30." said Spencer.

"Only five more kisses." said Olivia before taking Hank from her husband and started cooing over the youngest baby in Rossi's backyard.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer was watching his three oldest run around Rossi's backyard with Jack and Henry when Hotch approached him.

"So how does it feel to be 35?" asked Hotch as he thought about how he got to enjoy watching 21 and a half year old Spencer grow up right in front of him while wishing that Gideon asked for help instead of trying to solve the case that killed him on his own.

"I'm a bit sad because of finally reaching my 35th birthday means that Piper will be five in June since I was 30 when I held Piper for the first time." said Spencer.

"Time does go fast." said Hotch as he watched his goddaughter do a few back handsprings.

Spencer looked over to where his mom was sitting with his father and Olivia cooing over Daniel.

"I just can't believe that Daniel's going to be eight months old in 17 days." said Spencer.

"Me neither." said Hotch as he smiled when he heard his godson laugh, "So have you and Olivia decided on costumes for Daniel's first Halloween?" asked Hotch.

"We bought our costumes yesterday, and before you ask I've been sworn to secrecy since everyone will find out on Halloween night." said Spencer.

Hotch shook his head right as Piper came over to her daddy and godfather and tugged on their hands.

"Please play with us." said Piper.

A minute later Spencer and Hotch were playing with the five oldest kids of the BAU family's second generation while the woman all cooed over Daniel, Michael, and Hank.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was blowing out the candles of his birthday cake, and a few minutes later everyone was enjoying their piece of cake before Spencer opened up his presents.

* * *

A couple of weeks later William was taking a picture of his son dressed as Ken, Olivia who was wearing a blonde wig dressed up as Barbie, Piper as Little Bo Peep, Albert and Ava as Woody and Jesse, and Daniel dressed as T-Rex for Halloween.

* * *

 _A/N: Can you readers figure out what movie the Reid family decided to base their Halloween costumes on?_


	30. A Car Accident and a Death in the Family

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 for being the 125th reviewer of this story and also a shout out to Utau54, Fashionista7, Hippichic81, SRgirl, ALPHAomega239, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 29._

 _Also a shout out to every reader who correctly guessed Toy Story franchise, but OhSnapItsMadison is correct that I was referring to "Toy Story 3" since that one contained Ken._

 _Tissues will be needed for this chapter, and this chapter will be dealing with the first string of events that will lead Spencer to leave the BAU after A Good Husband so be prepared for a death within the Reid family._

* * *

William looked at his son as he thought about the doctor appointment he had the day before.

"Could we go out for a bit?" asked William.

"Sure." said Spencer.

Piper looked at her grandfather.

"I come with?" asked Piper.

"Its just going to be your daddy and me this time, princess." said William as he used his special nickname for his oldest granddaughter.

"OK." sighed Piper.

After William gave each grandchild and Olivia a kiss on the cheek, Spencer was driving his father and himself towards the Lincoln Memorial.

* * *

30 minutes later Spencer and William were sitting on a bench near the Lincoln Memorial.

"Why did you want us to go out?" asked Spencer.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you." said William.

Spencer instantly thought about the calendar that Olivia placed on their fridge that he, his father, and Olivia fill out when it comes to doctor appointments or activities that dealt with the kids.

"Didn't you have a doctor appointment yesterday while I was on my way back from St. Paul?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said William sadly.

The profiler in Spencer instantly became alert.

"What happened at your doctor appointment?" asked Spencer as he used a tone that he used for interrogating suspects.

William softly chuckled as he realized that his son was using his interrogation training on him while thinking about how his son interrogated him eight years ago.

"I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and its too late to treat aggressively." said William.

Spencer looked at his father in shock as he held back tears.

"How much time do you have left?" asked Spencer.

"I have a minimum of a year to live." said William as he started to tear up before he felt his son's strong arms wrap around him causing him to hug his son back.

After a few minutes of hugging, Spencer released his father from his hug and looked into his father's eyes.

"Have you told Olivia, the kids, or mom yet?" asked Spencer.

"I haven't because I wanted to tell you first." said William.

"I guess that I might need to reconsider my future with the FBI because Olivia told me that I should give myself a year before reconsidering my future." said Spencer.

"I don't want you to quit what you love doing because of me, and you need to help your team catch those unsubs that escaped prison." said William as he started to shiver in the early November chill.

"I think we should head home so we can tell Olivia and the kids together." said Spencer as he stood up and held out a hand for his father to help him up.

A few seconds later the Reid men were walking back to William's car.

* * *

15 minutes later Spencer saw that the light turned green causing him to start driving his father's car, and a few seconds later he heard a loud crash and his father screaming before his world went black while not realizing that Detective Will LaMontague who was currently on patrol witnessed the entire accident was rushing towards them with his partner.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Reid family home, Olivia answered the door with Daniel on her hip and smiled when she saw Hotch and Jack.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Olivia as she allowed both Hotch and Jack into the house.

"I wanted to borrow one of uncle Spencer's books for a book report." said Jack.

"Well he isn't here right now since he and William went out for some father and son time, but he should be back in a half hour." said Olivia.

"Can we please stay so I can show uncle Spencer that I mastered that magic trick he taught me?" asked Jack.

"You two sure can." said Olivia as she heard Piper, Albert, and Ava come downstairs and grinned when they saw who was at the door.

"Uncle Aaron." said Piper as she ran to her godfather who scooped her up right away.

"How are you Piper?" asked Hotch as he hugged his goddaughter tightly.

"I'm good." said Piper.

Hotch set his goddaughter down so he could have a moment with the twins and Daniel, and a few minutes later the house phone rang and a minute later Olivia was paling as she looked at Hotch.

"That was Will who told me that Spencer and William have been in a car accident." choked Olivia as she stated the name of the hospital her husband and father in law have been taken too.

"Daddy and grandpa got hurt?" asked Piper as she started to tear up causing Jack to start hugging her.

Hotch looked at his 11 year old son as he sent Jessica a text message.

"Can you stay here with the kids while I go with Olivia?" asked Hotch as his phone vibrated, "Aunt Jessica is currently in the area so she will be here in five minutes." said Hotch.

"I can dad." said Jack.

A few minutes later Hotch was driving Olivia to the hospital while alerting the rest of the team including Morgan about what was going on.

* * *

Three hours later a sobbing Olivia was being comforted by Garcia and JJ when Dr. Davis entered the family waiting room and looked at Olivia.

"I operated on your husband, and he is currently in recovery so you can see him soon." said Dr. Davis.

"What damage did the accident cause?" asked Olivia.

"Other than receiving a concussion from hitting the window, the accident caused his left knee to be dislocated." said Dr. Davis.

"He was shot in that knee seven years ago causing him to spend two months on crutches before walking with a cane for a month." said Hotch as he thought back to the determination Spencer showed as he learned how to walk again.

"I saw that in his file and I was able to repair the damage." said Dr. Davis.

"Do you think he can continue being a field agent for the FBI?" asked Hotch.

"How old was he when he got shot?" asked Dr. Davis.

"He was 27 years old, and he turned 35 last month." answered Hotch.

"With his age there's a higher chance that he will walk with a limp if he doesn't follow his recovery instructions, and depending on how his knee is after he completes physical therapy he might need to consider a desk job to prevent further damage since I ended up cleaning up scar tissue that has been building over the years." said Dr. Davis.

"How long will Dr. Reid be on medical leave for?" asked Hotch.

"He's on bed rest for a month." said Dr. Davis.

"What about flying?" asked Hotch.

"He can't fly for six weeks starting today." said Dr. Davis.

"At least Reid will be my bitch for two weeks when he returns." said Garcia causing Olivia to briefly smile.

Olivia looked at Dr. Davis.

"Please tell me that he wasn't given any narcotics." said Olivia as she thought about her husband getting closer to being 10 years sober.

"I haven't given him any since I saw the note in his file, but he will be in a lot of pain when he wakes up," said Dr. Davis.

"How long will Spencer be here?" asked Olivia.

"We're keeping him for the next two days under observation due to his concussion while watching out for infection." said Dr. Davis.

"What about my father in law William Reid?" asked Olivia.

"The doctor who is operating on him should be here in two minutes." said Dr. Davis.

Two minutes later a grim looking Dr. Watson came over and looked at the group of people who were standing with a sobbing woman.

"I know that William Reid's son was also in the accident so which one of you ladies is Mrs. Olivia Reid?" asked Dr. Watson.

Olivia raised her hand.

"I did everything I could to save your father in law, but he didn't make it off the table." said Dr. Watson before walking away.

A minute later a nurse came into the room and looked at Olivia.

"You can see your husband now, but I will only let two people into the room." said the nurse.

Olivia looked at Hotch.

"Can you please come with me, Aaron?" cried Olivia.

"Sure." said Hotch.

A teary eyed Garcia looked at Olivia.

"I will start making notifications to relatives in Las Vegas." said Garcia.

"I will start with funeral preparations." said Rossi.

"I'll head over to your house and tell the kids what is going on." said Morgan.

"I'll join you." said Tara.

Olivia looked at Morgan and Tara.

"Its better that you bring them here so I can tell them myself." said Olivia.

"OK." said Morgan as he gave Olivia a hug before he motioned Tara to come with him.

JJ looked at Olivia.

"We're here for you and Spence." said JJ as she hugged Olivia.

"Come on, Olivia." said Hotch as he wrapped an arm around Olivia.

Olivia looked at her husband's teammates.

"Thanks." said Olivia.

A few seconds later Hotch was leading Olivia to her husband's hospital room with a nurse.

* * *

A half hour later a teary eyed Olivia saw her husband's eyes moving causing her to look at Hotch.

"He's waking up." said Olivia.

A minute later Spencer's eyes opened and he bleary saw his wife who quickly slipped his glasses onto his face before helping him sip some water.

"What happened?" asked Spencer as he felt pain in his body.

"You were in a car accident with your father, and your left knee got dislocated so you won't be in the field again since you will be on crutches." said Hotch.

Spencer ignored the thought about re injuring his knee as he thought about his father.

"Where's dad?" asked Spencer.

Olivia started crying causing Hotch to look at Spencer.

"Your father was stable when he got here, but he ended up dying on the operating table." said Hotch in a gentle voice.

"If I told him no about going out for a bit, I would be having another year with him." said a teary eyed Spencer as he realized that he lost his father again.

"What?" asked Olivia as she grabbed a hold of her husband's hand.

Spencer looked at the clock and realized that it was still Saturday.

"After dinner dad and I went to the Lincoln Memorial because he wanted to tell me that he's dying from stage four pancreatic cancer." said Spencer just as a nurse came into the room.

"Your awake." said the nurse as she started taking Spencer's vitals while asking questions before leaving the room.

"What happened to the driver who hit dad and me?" asked Spencer.

"Will was driving behind you when the accident happened, and he told me that he arrested the driver who is currently in this hospital with a broken arm and a concussion." said Hotch before looking at Spencer, "I will make sure that the drunk driver who hit you and your father will end up in jail for a long time because you were almost killed while a father of a federal agent was killed." said Hotch.

"Thank you." said Spencer as he tried to make himself comfortable in bed before looking at Hotch, "How long am I on leave for?" asked Spencer.

"Your on medical and bereavement leave for a month, and if your ready to come back in a month your on desk duty until your cleared to travel." said Hotch.

Spencer opened his mouth to protest when Olivia looked at her husband.

"Just think about being home with our babies every night while we are able to sleep in our bed together after your released from here while we focus on the grieving process we will have to deal with." said Olivia before taking a deep breath, "I also ended up talking to the principal about what's going on, and I'm on family medical leave for a month." said Olivia.

A minute later Olivia's cellphone vibrated, and she saw a text from Morgan.

WE JUST ARRIVED AT THE HOSPITAL WITH THE KIDS, AND IS SPENCER AWAKE AND UP FOR HIS KIDS VISITING? ~ DM

"The kids are here with Derek and Tara, do you want to see them?" asked Olivia.

"Do they know what happened?" asked Spencer.

"All they know is that their daddy and grandpa got hurt, and I thought that we would tell them the news about their grandfather together." said Olivia.

"Does mom know that I'm here?" asked Spencer.

"I contacted her doctor and told her about you and William, and she's dealing with an episode right now so she's not up for visitors." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "So do you want the kids in here right now?" asked Olivia.

"Just the kids." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at Hotch.

"Can you go get them?" asked Olivia.

Hotch quickly got up and left the room, and two minutes later Spencer was holding back tears when Hotch entered the room with Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava as they took in the sight of their father being in a hospital bed and his left leg being up in traction.

"Daddy was in a car accident." said Spencer as Hotch left the room so Spencer and Olivia could be alone with the kids.

"Where's grandpa?" asked Piper as she looked around for her grandfather.

Spencer looked at Olivia.

"Can you get Piper in bed with me?" asked Spencer.

Olivia helped get her oldest daughter in bed while making sure that Piper was on Spencer's right side.

"Grandpa didn't survive surgery so he's up in Heaven." said Spencer.

"So I can't see him anymore?" asked Piper.

"Yes sweet pea and he's up there with your grandma Piper, grandpa Albert, your great uncle Daniel, and uncle Jason." said a teary eyed Olivia.

Piper, Albert, and Ava started crying as they realized that they wouldn't be getting any more hugs and kisses from their grandpa anymore while Daniel was unaware what was going on since he was asleep in his car seat.

"Grandpa will always be watching us." said Spencer as he hugged a sobbing Piper while not even caring that Piper's tears were soaking his hospital gown.

10 minutes later Hotch, Garcia, JJ, Rossi, Morgan, and Tara entered the room.

"A nurse told us that we can come in for 10 minutes." said Hotch as he watched JJ and Garcia make a beeline for Spencer.

"I'm so sorry for your loss." said JJ as she gave Spencer a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you." said Spencer before falling asleep.

Olivia looked at her husband's teammates and Morgan.

"Do you think you guys can take in the kids for the next two days while I stay here with Spencer?" asked Olivia.

"I'll be glad to take in Piper." said Hotch.

"I'll take in Daniel." said JJ as she looked at the sleeping baby boy.

"I'll take in Albert and Ava." said Morgan.

"Ethel and Gordon are already contacting William's former employees while planning on flying out here tomorrow." said Garcia.

"I ended up calling Father Davison and he's already helping me with funeral arrangements, and its been planned that the funeral takes place in three days." said Rossi.

"Thank you guys." said Olivia as she stroked her sleeping husband's hair.

Hotch looked at Piper who was asleep.

"I might as well take Piper to my place." said Hotch as he thought about the clothing that he keeps in his apartment for Piper.

Olivia gently woke up Piper while Morgan ended up lifting up the sleeping twins off the couch while Tara helped him get the twins situated in his arms.

"Mommy?" asked Piper.

"Your staying with me for a few days, Piper." said Hotch.

"I want to stay with daddy." cried Piper.

Spencer woke up to his oldest daughter's crying.

"Go with uncle Aaron and if you listen to him he can bring you by tomorrow." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Piper.

"May I please have a kiss?" asked Spencer.

Piper gave her daddy a sloppy kiss before she allowed her godfather to lift her out of bed, and a few minutes later it was just Spencer and Olivia in Spencer's hospital room.

* * *

The next day Cassie Campbell was leading Diana into the hospital room that Olivia told her that she would be in, and Diana gasped when she saw her son in a hospital bed.

"What happened, baby?" asked Diana.

Spencer took a deep breath as he thought about his accident and his father dying could affect his mother's health.

"Dad and I were in a car accident last night." said Spencer.

"Where's William?" asked Diana as she looked around for her ex-husband.

"He ended up dying on the operating table, so he's with uncle Daniel right now." said Spencer.

Diana started sobbing causing Olivia and nurse Cassie to get Diana settled into a chair before Cassie injected a sedative into Diana to calm her down.

"Is there anything I can do for you two?" asked Cassie.

"Can you be there with mom if she's well enough to attend the funeral?" asked Spencer.

"I can." said Cassie.

"The funeral is on Tuesday, and depending on how my MRI turns out tomorrow I will be going home." said Spencer.

"If you need a nurse to help you out at home, I know a few nurses who can help you out." said Cassie.

"I think we will be fine, and Piper, Albert, and Ava are old enough to start helping us around the house." said Olivia before noticing that her husband was asleep.

* * *

The next day at Georgetown Day School Mrs. Turner looked at her students as the school psychologist entered the room.

"Piper's not going to be here for at least a week." said Mrs. Turner.

"Why?" asked Annabel as she thought about the girl she was forming a friendship with.

Andrea and Brittney exchanged glances as they both knew what was going on since their parents ended up telling them that Piper's going to be sad for awhile.

"Piper's daddy and grandpa ended up in a car accident two days ago, and Piper's grandpa ended up going to Heaven while Piper's daddy ended up injuring his knee." said Mrs. Turner gently as she motioned the school psychologist to come over as she thought about the principal agreeing that they needed to explain death in a child friendly manner to her students.

* * *

An hour later Olivia was opening up the front passenger door of her SUV before helping Spencer get settled with his crutches.

"You think you can handle getting up the stairs on your own?" asked Olivia.

"I've handled climbing up stairs on crutches over seven years ago." said Spencer.

"Then let's get you into the house and up to bed." said Olivia.

At that moment Spencer started to effortlessly crutch his way up the few stairs on their front porch and into the house, and 10 minutes later Spencer was propped up in bed with his bad knee laid up on a bunch of pillows.

"Where are the kids and Einstein?" asked Spencer.

"Rossi is having them sleep over at his mansion tonight along with aunt Ethel and uncle Gordon, and we won't see them until the funeral tomorrow." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "Is there anything you need right now?" asked Olivia.

"I just want to hold you the best I can." said Spencer.

Olivia quickly joined her husband in bed, and a minute later they were both sobbing in each other's arms as they thought about losing William while almost losing Spencer.

* * *

The next day a black suit clad Spencer hobbled on his crutches to the alter with Olivia by his side, and as soon as Olivia helped him sit on a tall stool and helped him prop up his bad knee, he looked at his family, friends that his father made in DC, old family friends, and his father's past colleagues before thinking about how his mother couldn't make it to the funeral.

"Here, Spencer." said Olivia as she fixed the microphone so Spencer didn't have to lean.

Spencer glanced at the urn that contained his father's ashes before looking at everyone who came to the funeral.

"I really didn't have the best relationship with my father until five years and five months ago when I ended up reconnecting with him." said Spencer as he wiped a tear before continuing the speech he written before he reached the end, "Despite the rocky relationship we had until now, I'm really proud to be his son." said Spencer before he nodded at his wife who helped him stand up and get situated with his crutches.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting in the front pew with Piper on his right knee while listening to one of his father's former coworkers tell a story about his father.

* * *

Later on that afternoon Spencer was sitting in a chair with his leg propped up when Morgan approached him and Olivia.

"So what are you two going to do with the kids when you two go back to work?" asked Morgan.

"Aunt Ethel decided to retire from her job and move in with us next month." said Spencer.

"Just let me know when her belongings starts arriving so I can help move her in since your going to be on crutches for a couple of months." said Morgan before looking at Spencer and Olivia, "With me being a stay at home dad right now, I'll be glad to help take care of Daniel until Ethel moves in." said Morgan.

"Michael's nanny is offering to watch Daniel for us since he and Michael are really getting along well." said Olivia.

"What about me picking up Albert and Ava from pre-school and have them stay with me until your done with work?" asked Morgan.

"We were planning on asking you to help out with the twins until they start all day kindergarten next fall." said Spencer just as he saw a familiar face coming towards him, "I thought that you weren't able to make it, Emily?" asked Spencer as he thought back to the Skype call they had while he was in the hospital.

"I finished my case last night and I landed two hours ago." said Emily as she leaned down to give Spencer a hug, "I'm so sorry for your loss again." said Emily.

"Dad would have been gone in a year." said Spencer.

"What?" asked Emily.

"On Friday he was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer that was found too late to start treatment." said Spencer.

"I'm so sorry." said Emily.

"I'm happy that I spent the past five years and five months reconnecting with my father since we ended up being on much better terms than we were when I was 10." said Spencer sadly.

"With how you two made up for lost time over the past five years is all that matters since you know that your father died loving you." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Morgan was standing by Hotch and Rossi as they watched Spencer talk to Emily who was holding Daniel while Piper sat on his good knee.

"Think he's going to be OK after being in a traumatic event that killed his father and re-injured his bad knee?" asked Hotch as he thought about Spencer occasionally having trouble with his bad knee when staying in the same position for a long time.

"He will be fine at home with Olivia and the kids, and I know that he will be fine at work since you two have stepped in as father figures for him over the years." said Morgan as he thought about how Hotch has been there for Spencer since Spencer joined the BAU while Rossi really stepped in during the Riley Jenkins case.

"I know, and with how he has managed to get through all the obstacles in his life he's strong enough to get through this obstacle with the help of family and friends." said Hotch as he watched Piper say something to her father before giving him a kiss on the cheek while Albert and Ava ran over to their parents and older sister.

* * *

 _A/N: I'm ending this chapter here for now because the next chapter will focus on Spencer's recovery._


	31. Bereavement Leave

Disclaimer: I do now own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5_ _and_ _Hippichic81 for reviewing chapter 30._

 _This chapter starts the day after the funeral on_ _11-9-2016_ _and will go until Thanksgiving_ _of 2016_ _._

 _I decided that with having Piper, Albert, and Ava attending counseling for losing their grandpa while almost losing their daddy, they will see the guidance counselor at their school meaning that Albert and Ava would stay for an extra hour while getting to eat lunch with Piper at school._

 _I also decided that Spencer wouldn't be confined to his bed or the couch for a month unless he has an appointment because as long as he rests his injured knee his doctor doesn't have a problem with him being out and about since he shouldn't isolate himself from his family and friends while he's grieving over the loss of his father._

 _Thank you to tannerose5 for her suggestion about having Spencer have a wheelchair to use at home and in public so he doesn't have to use his crutches all the time._

* * *

Spencer was sitting in his home library reading since his aunt and uncle were taking Piper, Albert, and Ava to the park and out for dinner before they had to fly back to Vegas when he heard a knock on the open door causing him to see Jack and Henry.

"What are you doing here, boys?" asked Spencer as he motioned the two boys to come into the room.

"We know that you are sad so we wanted to cheer you up with some magic tricks." said Jack as he took in the sight of his adopted uncle in his pajamas while his left knee was covered a big brace while a set of crutches were leaning against the chair.

"Then let me see if you two are making progress on the lessons I've been giving you two." said Spencer.

A minute later Jack and Henry were pulling out everything they needed from Jack's backpack before they started their show.

* * *

30 minutes later Spencer was clapping when Jack and Henry finished their magic show, and Jack looked at Spencer as he thought about how his aunt Olivia reacted when she found out that uncle Spencer and his father were in a car accident.

"Do you think that your daddy is with my mom right now?" asked Jack.

"I think so, and they're probably telling each other stories about us." said Spencer.

"Are you going to light a candle every night like I do for my mom?" asked Jack.

"I think I will do that." said Spencer as Jack and Henry came over to hug Spencer while avoiding his injured knee.

* * *

Later on that night Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava were gathered in the girls bedroom where Spencer who was sitting on Piper's bed was lighting a candle before looking at the photo of his father that he placed on the nightstand between his daughters twin beds.

"Love you dad." said Spencer.

"I love you, grandpa." said Piper.

"I love you, grandpa." said Albert.

"I love you, grandpa." said Ava.

A few seconds later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava were blowing out the candle together before Spencer placed the candle the nightstand before propping himself on his crutches, and after he, Olivia, and Albert gave Piper and Ava goodnight kisses Spencer looked at his son.

"Its time for bed buckaroo." whispered Spencer.

"No piggy back ride, daddy?" asked a pouting Albert.

"I can't since I'm on crutches, buckaroo." said Spencer sadly.

Olivia looked at her oldest son.

"Do you want me to give you a piggy back ride?" asked a whispering Olivia.

"Yes, mommy." said Albert.

A minute later Olivia was giving her oldest son a piggy back ride to his bedroom while Spencer hobbled on his crutches next to Olivia and his mini-me, and after Albert was asleep in his bed Spencer and Olivia were in the hallway.

"After we check on Daniel, I should help you take your shower." said Olivia.

"We have to wrap plastic around my knee since I still have to keep it bandaged." said Spencer as he swung himself to their bedroom.

"I know." said Olivia as she thought about the car instructions she was given.

10 minutes later Spencer was sitting in his shower chair while Olivia gave him a shower before taking a quick shower herself.

* * *

Two days later Spencer was sitting in his home library with his injured knee elevated when there was a knock on the open door causing Spencer to look up from one of his father's Isaac Asimov books causing him to see his sponsor/superior holding a tray filled with food.

"Hello, Spencer." said John as he took in the appearance of Spencer who was wearing his glasses, an FBI t-shirt, Dr. Who themed flannel pajama pants, and a hinged brace over his damaged knee while his crutches were within his reach.

"You can come in, John." said Spencer as he set down the book.

John entered the room and closed the door and set the tray that contained a bottle of water, a grilled cheese sandwich, a bowl of tomato soup, baby carrots, and grapes onto Spencer's lap while avoiding Spencer's braced knee.

"Olivia mentioned that its lunch time so she asked me to bring you your lunch while making sure that you eat everything off your plate while we talk." said John.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he started to eat his lunch.

After Spencer was finished with his lunch, John looked at Spencer.

"How are you doing?" asked John.

"Other than having to deal with the five stages of grief over losing my father for the third time, helping the kids remember that their grandpa is no longer going to be here, while I have to deal with re-injuring the knee that got shot over seven years ago I'm hanging on there since I have friends and family by my side." said Spencer softly.

"Having friends and family to support you is all that matters, and are you planning on attending meetings during your month off?" asked John.

"I've been planning on asking you for a ride since Livy wants me to attend meetings." said Spencer.

"I can do that." said John before thinking about the kids that said hi to him, "How are the kids dealing with everything?" asked John.

"Piper, Albert, and Ava are upset that I can't carry them or give them piggy back rides for the next couple of months, and I'm upset about that too since I can't lift Daniel out of his crib since I can hurt myself and Daniel by removing him from his crib." said Spencer.

"You'll be walking again before you know it." said John.

"I know, and I just know that Daniel will be starting to walk before I can put weight on my bad knee again." said Spencer as he thought about his eight month old baby boy that was getting a lot of attention from him.

"What about Piper, Albert, and Ava dealing with the loss of their grandfather?" asked John.

"They have cried every day this week, and its been decided that Piper, Albert, and Ava will be seeing a child psychologist since they lost their grandfather while almost losing me." said Spencer before smiling slightly, "Ever since the funeral they have been enjoying the role of being my little helpers when it comes to bringing me anything I need so I can stay seated while they like to bring out their toy doctor kits and convince me to be their patient." said Spencer.

"Now that's cute." said John.

"Livy thinks so too since she has taken a bunch of pictures since Wednesday." said Spencer.

"At least you get to spend the next month focusing on being a father while recovering." said John just as there was a knock on the door.

"Daddy." said Piper.

"Come in Piper." said Spencer.

Piper opened up the door and entered the room and looked at her daddy who was sitting with his injured knee propped up.

"Mommy want to know if you are done eating." said Piper.

"I'm done eating, so can you carefully take the tray back to mommy?" asked Spencer.

"We watch a movie?" asked Piper.

"After Albert, Ava, and Daniel are settled down for their afternoon naps." said Spencer, as he thought about how Piper has pretty much grown out of her naps unless she had a tiring day.

"Yes, daddy." said Piper.

Spencer passed his oldest daughter the tray while John grabbed Spencer's crutches before helping the young man get situated on his crutches.

"I'll let you get back to spending time with your family and text me on Monday to let me know if your wanting to go." said John.

"OK." said Spencer as he swung himself across the library and into the hallway before John shadowed him down the stairs to make sure he didn't fall down the stairs.

15 minutes later Spencer was cuddling on the couch with Olivia and Piper watching "An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars" while the three younger kids napped.

* * *

Two days later Olivia who was getting Daniel dressed on her bed looked at her husband who was wearing khakis with his brace over his injured knee, a white long sleeved button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a black sweater vest tying his converse sneakers.

"Do you want to come along to drop Piper, Albert, and Ava off at school?" asked Olivia as she thought about Spencer's doctor changing his mind about having Spencer lay in bed or on the couch all the time to prevent Spencer from isolating himself after finding out that William died.

"Yes, and we can go see if mom's up to you, Daniel, and me visiting since I haven't seen her since my two days in the hospital." said Spencer.

"Then let's go wake up Piper, Albert, and Ava and get them dressed for school before we go out for breakfast." said Olivia.

"I deal with the girls while you deal with Albert?" asked Spencer.

"If you need help just yell for me." said Olivia as she set Daniel down and propped up her husband's crutches while Spencer used the arm rests to hoist himself up.

"I know." said Spencer as he rested his armpits under his crutches before he swung himself across their bedroom while Olivia picked up her baby boy.

* * *

Two hours later Olivia was helping her husband get into the wheelchair that Rossi bought for Spencer to use around the house and in public for when his arms are too tired to use his crutches.

"Want Daniel on your lap?" asked Olivia.

"Yes, please." said Spencer as he thought about how his three older kids fought about who gets to sit on their daddy's lap when he's using his wheelchair.

Olivia extracted Daniel from his car seat and settled her baby boy onto his daddy's lap, and a few seconds later she was pushing her husband towards the entrance of the hospital and before they knew it they approached Dr. Hauser and Dr. Harris.

"Hi Dr. Hauser. Hi Dr. Harris." said Olivia.

Dr. Hauser and Dr. Harris turned their heads and they gave Spencer and Olivia sad smiles as they thought back to finding out that one of their favorite patient's son got injured in a car accident that killed Diana's ex-husband.

"We just checked on your mom and she's expecting you three." said Dr. Hauser.

"Thanks." said Spencer softly.

Dr. Harris looked at Spencer and thought about how he stopped by after Nathan committed suicide over the summer.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Dr. Reid." said Dr. Harris.

"Thank you." said Spencer softly.

"How's your knee?" asked Dr. Harris as she looked at the brace on Spencer's knee.

"Its slowly healing, and I can't wait to start physical therapy next week Monday." said Spencer.

Dr. Harris looked at the babbling baby who was on his daddy's lap.

"Your getting so big Daniel." cooed Dr. Harris as she smiled at the eight month old boy.

"Can you say hi?" asked Spencer.

Daniel smiled and waved at Dr. Hauser and Dr. Harris.

"Hi." said Daniel.

"Is my mom in her room?" asked Spencer.

"That's where she currently is." said Dr. Hauser.

Olivia looked down at her husband.

"Ready?" asked Olivia.

"Yep." said Spencer as he popped the P.

Two minutes later Olivia pushed her husband into her mother in law's hospital room, and Spencer smiled softly when he saw his mom going through a photo album.

"Hi mom." said Spencer.

Diana looked up from her photo album, and a few seconds later she was looking confused when she saw her son, Olivia, and youngest grandchild without her ex-husband.

"Where's William and why are you in a wheelchair, Spencer?" asked Diana.

Spencer sighed sadly as he tightened his grip on his baby boy.

"Dad died a week and two days ago in the same accident that dislocated my left knee, and my colleague David Rossi bought this wheelchair for me to use so I don't have to hobble around on my crutches all the time." said Spencer.

"I forgot." said Diana as she released a couple of tears.

"Its your Alzheimer's and Dementia that caused you to forget, and I'm on leave until the beginning of next month before I'm put on desk duty." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her daughter in law who moved her son's wheelchair closer to her.

"Why aren't you at work, Olivia?" asked Diana.

"Georgetown Day School arranged a long term substitute to take over my classes until Spencer goes back to work since aunt Ethel can't move in with us until next month." said Olivia.

"Most nannies are spies from the government, so I am happy that Ethel decided to move out here and help you two out with the kids." said Diana.

Spencer and Olivia exchanged looks before Daniel started crying causing Spencer to smell a smelly diaper.

"Someone needs a diaper change." said Spencer.

"I'll go change his diaper." said Olivia as she scooped up her baby boy and took her to her mother in law's bathroom.

Five minutes later Diana was reading to Spencer, Olivia, and Daniel.

* * *

Later on that night Spencer swung himself on his crutches towards the chair that John placed in the front of the room for him, and after John made sure that Spencer's left leg was propped up and had a cup of water by him, he quickly set Spencer's crutches aside before sitting down in the front of the room.

"Hello my name is Spencer." said Spencer.

"Hello, Spencer." said agents and police officers who haven't met Spencer in the past.

"I use to have a problem with Dilaudid, but I've been clean for over nine years and I will be reaching 10 years sober next year." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "Two Saturdays ago I was involved in a car accident that ended up killing my father while dislocating the same knee that got shot in over seven years ago." said Spencer as he wiped a tear that was streaming down his face.

Spencer took a sip of his water before using the Kleenex that John made sure to give him before looking at the other Beltway Clean Cop members.

"Despite being ordered to attend grief counseling by my boss and my wife, my wife insisted that I come here since I'm working really hard on not trying to ask for any narcotic pain relievers to help treat the pain that I'm currently dealing with because losing my father while being told that I might end up walking with a permanent limp could cause me to want to relapse." said Spencer before smiling slightly, "I'm not going to let the loss of my father and the possibility of having a permanent limp cause me to relapse because I have four kids under the age of five who are all depending on me to focus on my recovery so I can finally carry my kids again."

Spencer looked at John and nodded to him that he was finished, and less than a minute later John was helping Spencer stand up and prop himself up on his crutches before Spencer swung himself back to his chair while he listened to condolences from officers and agents.

* * *

Over a half hour later Spencer was sitting down in his chair drinking some coffee that John brought him when an officer approached him.

"I was at the scene of the accident with Detective LaMontagne, and I'm sorry for your loss, Spencer." said Corey.

"Thank you, Corey." said Spencer before looking at Corey, "Did Will end up telling you who I am when you two left the scene of the accident?" asked Spencer.

"He did since he ended up saying your name without looking for an ID, but I didn't tell him that you attend the same meetings as me since he doesn't know that I use to be an alcoholic." said Corey.

A minute later John approached them and looked at Spencer.

"You ready to go home, Spencer?" asked John.

"I am." said Spencer.

A few minutes later John was helping Spencer get into his car before driving Spencer home.

* * *

A week later Olivia entered the house and smiled when she saw her husband sitting in his favorite arm chair reading to their baby boy.

"Want to go out for the morning before we pick up the twins from preschool?" asked Olivia as she thought about how she arranged for Albert and Ava to eat lunch at school since they were going to see the school's child psychologist with Piper for grief counseling.

"Can we go visit my teammates at the BAU since Garcia mentioned that they're currently flying back from Seattle?" asked Spencer.

"Aaron ordered you to stay away from the BAU while you recover." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at his youngest son.

"What do you say about visiting uncle Aaron at the BAU?" asked Spencer.

Daniel happily babbled at the thought about visiting his godfather.

"Daniel wants to go." said Spencer as he started using his eyes on his wife while pouting.

A groaning Olivia looked at her husband who was wearing his lounge wear.

"We can go, but first you should change into nicer clothing." said Olivia as she took her baby boy from her husband so he could grab his crutches so Spencer, Olivia, and their youngest son could head upstairs.

* * *

An hour and a half later Spencer swung himself off the elevator on his crutches while Olivia pushed Daniel's stroller, and a few seconds later Spencer smiled when he saw Garcia and Cruz talking in the hallway.

"Hi." said Spencer.

Garcia turned around and grinned when she saw Spencer, Olivia, and nearly nine month old Daniel.

"Well this is a nice surprise." said Garcia.

"With the house being too quiet we were getting bored, and with the rest of the team currently being 30 minutes away from us we decided to surprise you guys before we pick up Albert and Ava from preschool." said Spencer.

"And I appreciate you deciding to visit." said Garcia as she gave Spencer a gentle hug while making sure not to touch his bad knee, "How are you doing emotionally?" asked Garcia.

"Going to grief counseling is helping, and the idea that Jack gave me about lighting a candle every night while looking at a picture of dad is helping Piper, Albert, Ava, and me helps us cope with the loss." said Spencer.

"That's good." said Garcia.

Spencer looked at Cruz and waved at him.

"Hello, sir." said Spencer.

"How are you doing?" asked Cruz as he took in the sight of his agent wearing casual clothes while propped up on his crutches.

"I'm hanging in there since I have Livy and the kids to help me through the grieving process while making sure to rest my knee so I can become a field agent again." said Spencer before feeling his arms get tired from all the crutch walking he had to do, "Do you think we can head to the conference room so I can sit down and rest my arms and uninjured leg?" asked Spencer.

"Certainty." said Cruz before looking at Daniel who was happily babbling away in his stroller, "Mind if I'm the one to carry Daniel up to the conference room?" asked Cruz.

"Go ahead." said Olivia.

Cruz removed Daniel from his stroller and settled the baby boy onto his hip before opening the glass door for the bullpen and allowed Spencer, Olivia, and Garcia to pass through the door before stepping into the bullpen himself.

"Where's that wheelchair that Rossi bought you?" asked Garcia.

"Its in the backseat of my SUV because Spencer is too stubborn to use it here." said Olivia.

Spencer rolled his eyes.

"With having to climb stairs to reach get to the second level of the bullpen, I didn't want to come into this building in my wheelchair." said Spencer as he swung himself across the bullpen while nodding at agents who were greeting him and giving him their condolences.

"When your ready to come back for desk duty, bring your wheelchair so you can use it on this floor and around the rest of this building while using your crutches in areas that you have to climb a few stairs to access." said Cruz.

Spencer opened his mouth to protest before Garcia glared at him.

"Listen to our section chief because I remember you complaining about your arms getting sore from using your crutches, so if you don't bring your wheelchair along I will ruin your credit score." said Garcia.

"Listen to Penelope because I'm backing up Penelope and your section chief." said Olivia.

"Fine." said Spencer as he swung himself in a faster pace towards the stairs that led to the second level of the bullpen.

"You're very fast on your crutches." said Cruz.

"Remember about hearing about me getting s-h-o-t in the knee?" asked Spencer as he slowly hobbled up the stairs while making sure that his left foot avoided hitting the stairs.

"Yes." said Cruz.

"This is the second time in my life that I have to spend a couple of months on crutches." said Spencer as he swung himself to the conference room.

"I get to enjoy the side effects of my husband being on crutches for three months." smirked Olivia as she thought about getting to watch her husband's upper body buff up while watching the muscles on her husband's upper body move when he's hobbling around on his crutches shirtless.

Spencer blushed causing Garcia and Olivia to laugh, and the two woman laughed until they entered the conference room.

"Let's get you onto the couch so you can elevate your leg like you suppose to." said Olivia as she started to help her husband stretch out on the couch before setting his crutches aside.

As soon as Spencer was settled onto the couch in a comfortable position, Cruz looked at Spencer.

"Want your son?" asked Cruz.

"Yes, please." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was cradling Daniel to his chest while Olivia sat at the end of the couch by her husband's feet while Garcia and Cruz sat down in chairs.

"How is your mom doing with everything that's going on?" asked Cruz.

"Her Alzheimer's and dementia sometimes makes her think that her ex-husband is still alive so we always need to remind her that dad died while reminding her that I was in the car accident that killed dad because she thought I got got hurt on the job." said Spencer as Olivia reached out to squeeze his hand.

"Its never easy for someone with Alzheimer's to lose a loved one." said Cruz.

"My mother's doctor and her nurses are making sure to remind her every day since they asked me to make sure she has photo albums that they can look through with her." said Spencer.

"Its a good thing that we made sure to make copies of the photos from all the photo albums I got to see over the years so we can show our children pictures of you as a little boy." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at Garcia.

"Do you think that Hotch would let me take consults home so I can work on them?" asked Spencer.

"Your really bored when Olivia and your four beautiful children are keeping you from getting bored when your off duty?" asked Garcia as she gestured to Daniel who was in Spencer's arms.

"Its just too quiet in the house when Piper, Albert, and Ava are at school." said Spencer before smirking, "And you do know that I always complete consults faster than the rest of the team, and I really need a challenge while I rest my knee." pouted Spencer as he worked his brown eyes on Garcia while Olivia held back her laughter.

"I'll talk to Hotch and see what I can do since Rossi, JJ, and Tara have been complaining about their stacks of consults being bigger due to you being on medical leave, but when you come back for desk duty I'm keeping you in my bat cave so I can go all mother hen on you." said Garcia.

"Deal." smirked Spencer.

"You are definitely a master manipulator." laughed Cruz.

Five minutes later Spencer was smiling when he saw his teammates enter the conference room.

"Hi guys." said Spencer.

"Spence." said JJ as she quickly made her way to Spencer and pulled him into a gentle hug before hugging Olivia.

"I thought that I ordered you to stay away from here while you recover?" asked Hotch.

"I was dealing with cabin fever, and when I asked Daniel if he wanted to see you he got excited when I mentioned your name." said Spencer as he started using his eyes on Hotch causing some laughter from Rossi, Tara, JJ, Olivia, Garcia, and Cruz.

Hotch laid his eyes on his godson who was on his daddy's lap.

"Is that so, Daniel?" asked Hotch.

"Ya." said Daniel as he started to reach towards his godfather causing Hotch to take Daniel from his father.

Hotch looked at his youngest agent as he held a babbling Daniel.

"Your off the hook because Daniel definitely wanted to see me." said Hotch as he started to bounce his godson in his arms, "Are you having fun being with just your mommy and daddy in the mornings while your siblings are at school?" asked Hotch.

Daniel happily babbled at his godfather while Hotch wasn't aware that Garcia was taking a picture to send Emily.

"He's really enjoying being spoiled by Livy and me in the mornings." said Spencer just as Ashley Seaver entered the room, "I take it that Agent Swan loaned you to my teammates for awhile so they aren't two agents down?" asked Spencer.

"She did." said Ashley before giving Spencer a gentle hug, "I'm sorry for your loss." said Ashley.

"Thank you." said Spencer softly.

Olivia looked at the clock and noticed that it was 10 AM before looking at her husband.

"We should probably get going since Albert and Albert will need to be picked up in an hour and a half from preschool, and you also have physical therapy at 1 PM so we need to run home and grab your gym clothes." said Olivia.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Your first psychical therapy session?" asked Hotch.

"Since the stitches from surgery got removed on Friday, its been decided start physical therapy today since my knee is healing well." said Spencer.

"Who's going to watch Albert, Ava, and Daniel?" asked JJ.

"Morgan offered to take them in since he wants to spend time with Albert and Ava." said Spencer.

"Tell him that I said hello." said Garcia.

"We will." said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer and Olivia.

"So have you two decided on what to do for Thanksgiving?" asked Rossi.

"Part of me doesn't want to celebrate it this year because of losing my father this month, but I know that we need to celebrate since I know that we're all thankful that I'm alive despite my father not making it." said Spencer.

"Plus Piper's, Albert's, and Ava's therapist recommended that we don't cancel Thanksgiving since they are learning about the holiday in school." said Olivia.

"How about I host Thanksgiving since Hayden, Joy, Joy's husband, and Kai are coming out?" asked Rossi.

Spencer and Olivia looked at each other before Olivia decided to answer.

"We would like to have Thanksgiving at your mansion." said Olivia before looking at her husband as she reached for her husband's crutches, "Let's get going." said Olivia.

A few seconds later Spencer was propping himself onto his crutches, and after saying goodbye to his teammates, Spencer was hobbling towards the elevator while Olivia carried Daniel on her hip towards the area where Daniel's stroller was parked.

10 minutes later when Spencer was in the front passenger seat of Olivia's SUV, Spencer's cellphone vibrated and he saw a text from Garcia.

I TOLD SIR HOTCH ABOUT WHAT YOU ASKED ME, AND HE AGREED WITH YOUR REQUEST SO EXPECT TO BE SPENDING YOUR TIME ON DESK DUTY IN MY BAT CAVE. ~ PG

Spencer smirked.

"What is it?" asked Olivia.

"Hotch agreed to allow me to work on consults at home so I can help with the current workload my teammates are dealing with, so when I start desk duty on the 5th I will be working in Garcia's office." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I hope your not upset about me wanting to work on consults at home." said Spencer.

"I don't mind you working on consults at home since you told me that working on consults from a distance helps save lives, and I can keep the kids busy while your working on consults." said Olivia.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

* * *

Three hours later Spencer was hobbling into the same rehab center he went to after getting shot in the knee, and 10 minutes later the physical therapist who was assigned to him after he got shot in the knee approached him.

"I will be helping you regain full strength fo your knee again." said Thomas as he thought about how his old friend David Rossi asked him to assist Spencer with his physical therapy over seven years ago.

"This time I didn't inure my knee during a case." said Spencer.

"I know since I read the reports from your orthopedic surgeon." said Thomas before looking at the young woman who was resting a hand on Spencer's arm, "And who is this lovely young lady standing next to you?" asked Thomas as he took in the sight of Spencer's wedding band and Olivia's bridal set.

"Thomas, this is my wife Olivia." said Spencer.

Thomas smirked at Olivia.

"So I take it that your going to help me assist your stubborn husband through physical therapy?" asked Thomas as he thought about how stubborn Spencer was when he worked with him.

"I'm planning on it since I'm going to help Spencer get back to being able to give our kids piggy back rides and chase after our youngest son when he starts to walk during the next couple of months." said Olivia as she ended up whipping out her cellphone and showed Thomas a picture of the kids.

Thomas smiled at the picture of Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel before looking at Spencer.

"Cute kids, and if any of the older children are not in school during your physical therapy sessions I want them to join us so they can be your cheerleaders." said Thomas before looking at the duffel bag that Olivia had around her shoulders, "Did you bring your swim trunks today since I decided that we will start off with hydrotherapy like we did last time?" asked Thomas.

"I have them with me." said Spencer.

"What about you Olivia?" asked Thomas.

"I have my bathing suit too." said Olivia.

"Then the two of you should go get changed before meeting me by the pool in 10 minutes." said Thomas as he knew that he didn't need to give Spencer directions.

12 minutes later Thomas and Olivia were helping Spencer get into the warm swimming pool for hydrotherapy.

* * *

Three days later Spencer, Olivia, and the kids were sitting at Rossi's dining room table with his teammates, Hayden, Joy, Joy's husband, Kai, Will, Jack, Henry, and Michael for Thanksgiving.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison, Hippichic81, and tannerose5 for reviewing chapter 31._

 _I'm so sorry about the delay for this chapter, I was dealing with_ _intense_ _writers block for this chapter while I wanted to focus on my other two in progress stories._

 _This chapter starts the day after Thanksgiving, and I decided to change things up a bit so I hope you readers love the my replacement nanny for Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel since Spencer told Olivia that she shouldn't become a stay at home mom again since she loves teaching._

 _Hearing the song "Livin on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi play on the radio while my mom belted "Livin' on a Prayer" out that song inspired a scene for this chapter._

 _I'm now sporting an air cast due to partially tearing my left Achilles tendon. This morning I showed up at Friday morning 8 AM Zumba to tell everyone that I won't be able to do Zumba for_ _awhile_ _,_ _and I was surprised when_ _the instructor_ _suggested that I sit down in a chair and just_ _follow along with the arm movements while moving my good foot along so I'm happy that I can still participate in Zumba a bit._

* * *

A fully dressed Spencer swung himself into the dining room where he found Hotch and Jack with his four children.

"Morning." said Spencer as he swung himself over to Piper and gave her a kiss on the head before giving Albert, Ava, and Daniel each a kiss.

"You are a sleepyhead, daddy." said Piper.

Hotch quickly pulled out a chair for Spencer to sit in.

"Mommy wanted me to sleep in this morning since I ended up spending over three hours singing and rocking Daniel to sleep last night." said Spencer as he carefully sat down before handing Hotch his crutches.

"Why was Daniel crying a lot last night?" asked Piper as she watched her godfather lean her daddy's crutches against the wall.

"He's sprouting another tooth, and I wanted mommy to get more sleep since she had to wake up at three AM this morning." said Spencer as Hotch placed his breakfast in front of him with a cup of orange juice.

"Where did mommy go?" asked Ava.

"She went Christmas shopping with auntie JJ, auntie Penelope, and auntie Tara early this morning." said Spencer before he started eating the breakfast that Hotch placed in front of him.

"Are we going to put up our Christmas tree today?" asked Piper.

Spencer sighed sadly as he thought about how he wouldn't be able to put up the tree this year.

"I won't be able to put our Christmas tree up myself this year." said Spencer sadly.

Piper looked at her godfather.

"Can you please put up the Christmas tree, uncle Aaron?" asked Piper.

"Your mommy already asked me to put up the Christmas tree when she gets home." said Hotch.

Spencer shot his boss a grateful smile.

"Daddy?" asked Albert.

Spencer looked at his oldest son.

"Yes, Albert?" asked Spencer.

"Are you able to help make the tree pretty?" asked Albert.

"Since I can't stand up without the help of my crutches, I have to help decorate the bottom half of the tree while sitting down in my wheelchair." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava all at once while Daniel clapped his hands.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer was sitting on the couch with his bad leg up on the ottoman with a clingy Daniel curled into his chest as he watched Jack teach Piper, Albert, and Ava a magic trick while classic rock music played on the radio when Hotch came over with a cup of coffee for him.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he took the mug of coffee from his boss just as "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi started playing on the radio causing him to softly chuckle.

"What's with that laugh?" asked Hotch as he sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

"Ever since coming home from the hospital, Livy's been belting out this song at least twice a day. And when I asked her why, she told me that her grief counselor had her listen to "Livin on a Prayer" to remind her that she will be OK." said Spencer.

Hotch listened to the familiar song for a minute before looking at Spencer.

"She's right." said Hotch.

* * *

The next morning the doorbell rang causing Spencer to wheel himself to the door with Piper on his lap, and less than a minute Spencer was letting Alex into his house.

"Nana Alex." said Piper as she jumped off her daddy's lap and gave Alex a hug.

"Hello there, Piper." said Alex as she scooped up the nearly four and a half year old girl and hugged her before setting her down, "Why don't you go upstairs and play, sweetie." said Alex.

"OK." said Piper as she ran towards the stairs.

"Where are the other kids?" asked Alex as she gave Spencer a hug.

"Olivia took Albert and Ava to a play date, and Daniel's currently napping in the living room in his car seat." said Spencer before looking at his mother figure, "What are you doing here?" asked Spencer.

"Let's go to the kitchen and get ourselves some coffee first." said Alex.

A few minutes later Spencer and Alex were drinking their coffee at the small kitchen table.

"James and I decided that we wanted to move back to DC, and instead of teaching at Georgetown again, I have a proposition for you that you would like." said Alex.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"With you telling me that your aunt can't come out here since her brother has terminal cancer, what do you say about me being a nanny for your kids while you and Olivia are working." said Alex.

"Really?" asked Spencer.

"Your kids are the grandchildren that I always imagined having." smiled Alex.

"I trust you to take care of my children especially since my teammates and I are still trying to find the serial killers that has escaped three different prisons." said Spencer.

"I'm planning on getting a concealed carry permit so I am always armed in public, and James and I just bought a four bedroom house and two of those bedrooms will be decorated personally for you kids." said Alex.

Spencer smiled.

"Your hired." said Spencer.

"Well its a good thing that Olivia already accepted my offer." smirked Alex.

"Would you mind watching the kids tonight so I can surprise Olivia on a trip to a bed & breakfast tonight?" asked Spencer.

"James and I will be glad to stay the night." said Alex just as both adults heard Daniel crying in the living room causing Alex to get up, "How about I go deal with Daniel." said Alex.

"He's nine months old today." said Spencer as he followed Alex in his wheelchair.

* * *

Later on that night, Spencer eased himself into the front seat of Olivia's SUV while Olivia got into the driver's seat.

"Since you told me to dress up this evening, are you now going to tell me where we're going?" asked Olivia.

"We're going to a bed and breakfast in Fredericksburg, Virginia." said Spencer as he waved at his children who were by the front window with Alex and James before imputing the address into her GPS.

"What about pajamas for tonight and clothes for tomorrow?" asked Olivia.

"I already got our bags in here since I packed our bags while Alex put them in here for me." said Spencer.

"Why do I have the feeling that you packed your favorite lingerie?" asked Olivia.

Spencer blushed.

"Its OK, Spencer since I was planning on talking to you about spending a night away from home since you've been cleared for mommy and daddy time." smirked Olivia as she pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

Four hours later a naked and sweaty Olivia smiled at her naked and sweaty husband who was laying on his back in bed.

"How's your knee?" asked Olivia.

"No knee pain at all since you convinced me to take some Ibuprofen while we were eating dinner." said Spencer.

"So are you up for another round?" asked Olivia.

Spencer nodded.

"Just let me know if your in too much pain and then we'll stop and move to the claw foot bathtub." said Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer.

* * *

Eight days later Hotch was helping Spencer get into his car while Olivia placed her husband's folded up wheelchair into the trunk before going to her husband.

"I'll be there to pick you up at five, and I'm aware that if there's a case you will be consulting from our home library." said Olivia as she leaned forward to give her husband a kiss.

A few minutes later Hotch was driving Spencer to Quantico.

"I wish that I can travel with you guys, but I know that I should enjoy going home to Olivia and the kids every night until after Christmas." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Spencer as he parked his car.

"Do you want to be in your wheelchair right now?" asked Hotch.

"Garcia told me that if I don't show up in my wheelchair she will ruin my credit score, and I can wheel myself while you carry my crutches." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was easing himself into his wheelchair, and a few minutes later Spencer was wheeling himself into headquarters while Hotch carried Spencer's crutches and messenger bag as they reached security.

"First day back Agent Reid?" asked the security guard Nick Carter as he thought about hearing about the BAU's resident genius being in a car accident that killed his father and the knee that got shot in over seven years ago getting re-injured causing the young agent to end up on crutches for a couple of months again.

"As much as I love getting to be home with my wife and kids every day and night, I'm glad to be cleared for desk duty for awhile since doing consults at home to help my team's workload is not enough." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "I've been given the offer to teach at the academy this month so I don't have to be at my desk all day." said Spencer as he wheeled himself through the metal detector.

A few seconds later Spencer was wheeling himself towards the elevators with Hotch walking alongside him with his crutches, and as they were heading towards the elevators, Spencer accepted welcome backs from other agents and civilian staff that they came across.

Hotch opened the glass doors so Spencer could wheel himself through, and Spencer lightly shook his head when he noticed balloons on his desk while Tara, JJ, Rossi, and Garcia were gathered around his desk with some sparkling cider.

"Welcome back." said JJ, Garcia, Tara, and Rossi in unison.

Spencer quickly wheeled himself to his desk where he was given hugs from his three female teammates before Rossi gave him a kiss on both cheeks.

"So how did the kids take it with you coming back here today?" asked JJ.

"They cried since they've been use to having me home this past month, but Olivia and I agreed that we need to go back to our usual routines." said Spencer.

"Except your my bitch until after Christmas." said Garcia.

Spencer laughed.

* * *

A half hour later in Washington DC, Olivia looked at her third period class.

"I am pleased to say that I got good reviews from my long term substitute while seeing that no money has been added to my swear word jar." said Olivia.

Joshua looked at his teacher.

"When Principal Shaw told us what happened to your husband and father in law, we all wanted to behave for your temporary replacement." said Joshua.

"How is your husband?" asked Amanda.

"He has good days and bad days since there's a chance that he will walk with a permanent limp this time." said Olivia.

"This time?" asked Samantha.

Olivia took a deep breath.

"Spencer has injured his left knee over seven years ago, and with his current age and having to get scar tissue cleaned out, we've been told that there's a chance that he will be walking with a permanent limp. So other than having to grieve for the loss of his father he has to deal with the possibility of his days of being a field agent being done." said Olivia.

"My days of playing football were done when I injured my knee two years ago." said Austin.

"Spencer is one of the strongest men I know, and I know that with how determined he can be, he will work his way to becoming a field agent again since I've accompanied him to his physical therapy appointments." said Olivia.

"So with your husband being back to work and you teaching us again, who's watching Daniel and the twins?" asked Amanda.

"A former coworker of Spencer's offered to be our nanny." said Olivia before she decided to start the lesson that she had planned for the day.

* * *

Spencer's cellphone vibrated and he saw the reminder of his physical therapy appointment that's happening in three hours.

"Is that Olivia?" asked JJ.

"Olivia actually set a reminder on my phone to remind me that I have physical therapy in three hours." said Spencer.

"Who's taking you?" asked JJ.

Rossi who was coming down the stairs spoke up.

"I am since I am taking Spencer out for lunch while I take the opportunity to catch up with Thomas." said Rossi before looking at Spencer who was pulling on his navy blue pea coat, "Are you ready?" asked Rossi.

"I am." said Spencer.

"Want to leave in your crutches or wheelchair?" asked Rossi.

"I'll leave this building in my wheelchair, but I will use my crutches to get into the restaurant and the rehab center." said Spencer.

"OK." said Rossi as he picked up Spencer's crutches while Spencer wheeled himself away from his desk.

"Good luck, and don't push yourself too hard." said JJ.

Spencer gave JJ a thumbs up before he wheeled himself towards the glass doors while Rossi walked alongside him.

* * *

Three hours later Thomas entered the room that Spencer was settled in and looked at Rossi.

"Where's the lovely Mrs. Reid?" asked Thomas.

"She returned to work since I'm now on desk duty." said Spencer.

Thomas looked at Spencer who was dressed in some basketball shorts that Olivia bought for him and an FBI t-shirt, "You ready Spencer?" asked Thomas.

"Ready." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer swung himself towards the room that contained workout equipment where Thomas instructed him to hoist himself up onto the table where he would help Spencer do some stretches for his knee first before he would use one of the leg extension machines.

* * *

20 days later Spencer smiled as he watched his three oldest children react to their Christmas gifts before seeing Piper, Albert, and Ava react to seeing gifts from their grandpa.

"Its from grandpa." said Piper.

Spencer and Olivia gave each other sad smiles as they thought about how they found wrapped gifts with the kids names on them.

"We found these wrapped gifts in the basement with a note to save these gifts for Christmas if anything happened to him." said Olivia.

Piper looked at her daddy who was wiping a tear.

"Are you OK, daddy?" asked Piper.

"I'm OK, Goober." said Spencer.

"Do you miss grandpa?" asked Piper.

"I do miss my father, but you know that he's happy in Heaven and we will all see him again when we're ready." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at the clock.

"We should finish up opening up presents so we can get ready for Mass." said Olivia.

* * *

An hour and a half later Spencer and Olivia were settling themselves into their usual pew with the kids and Rossi.

* * *

The following Saturday night, Spencer and Olivia were both cuddling on the couch as they watched the ball drop on TV, and when it was January 1st 2017, Spencer and Olivia pulled themselves into a kiss.

"Happy New Year." said Olivia.

"Happy New Year." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I just wonder how this year turns out?" asked Spencer.

"Hopefully there will be a lot of good times to outweigh the bad, since we both know that the good times always outweigh the bad." said Olivia.


	33. DJ Turns 1, France, and Luke Alvez

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

 _A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison, tannerose5, and Hippichic81 for reviewing chapter 32._

 _I'm so sorry about the delay for this chapter since I was dealing with writer's block while focusing on my two other in progress stories. With this story now following season 12 with an AU twist, I'm planning that I do two scenes from The Crimson King_ _while there will be an AU twist to certain episodes since Spencer won't be trying to cure his Alzheimer's & Dementia and there's no Witness Protection for Hotch and Jack at all. Here's a warning that tissues will be needed during future chapters._

 _With having The Storm take place at the end of September of 2016, this chapter starts on February 26th of 2017 (So the 10 year anniversary of Spencer's abduction and torture has passed, Olivia is now 33 years old, Daniel's been walking for three weeks, while Spencer is walking without a cane despite having a small limp that doesn't affect him that much in the field)._

 _There are time jumps in this chapter._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia stood over their baby boy's crib, and they smiled when they saw their youngest son wake up.

"Happy birthday, Daniel." said Olivia.

Daniel smiled at his mother.

"Mama." said Daniel before turning to his father, "Dada." said Daniel.

"Let's get you into a clean diaper and dressed for Mass." said Spencer as he lifted his son out of his crib and carried him to his changing table before looking at his wife, "As soon as I have Daniel dressed, I'll go wake up Albert and get him dressed before I start breakfast breakfast." said Spencer.

Olivia smiled at her husband as she thought about when Spencer got off the cane three weeks ago he insisted on cooking every meal when he's home.

"I'll go wake up Piper and Ava get them ready for Mass." said Olivia as she left Daniel's nursery and headed to Piper's and Ava's bedroom.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer was putting breakfast onto the dining room table when Olivia came into the dining room with Piper and Ava.

"Good morning, daddy." said Piper.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter who was wearing a purple long sleeved dress with purple wool tights while her mid back length light brown curly hair was pulled into a fishtail ponytail.

"You look beautiful today, Piper." said Spencer.

"Thank you, daddy." said Piper.

Ava looked at her daddy.

"What about me?" asked Ava.

Spencer looked at Ava who was dressed in a pink long sleeved dress with pink wool tights while her mid back length light brown straight hair was also pulled into a fishtail ponytail.

"You, Piper, and mommy are all beautiful today." said Spencer before looking at Albert who was drinking a cup of orange juice, "What do you think buddy?" asked Spencer.

Albert who was dressed like his father looked at his mommy and sisters.

"You three are pretty." said Albert.

Daniel swiped his empty his bowl onto the floor before pounding on his high chair.

"Yes, Daniel?" asked Spencer.

Daniel signed that he was still hungry causing Spencer to laugh.

"Let's eat our breakfast before our food gets cold." said Spencer as he worked on cutting up small portions from half a pancake for Daniel.

Olivia looked at Piper and Ava.

"Don't forget to wish your baby brother a happy birthday." said Olivia.

Piper and Ava looked at their blonde curly haired and blue eyed baby brother.

"Happy birthday, Daniel." said Piper.

"Happy birthday, DJ." said Ava.

Daniel happily babbled at his older sisters before the family of six were eating scrambled eggs, pancakes, and shredded hash browns before the family of six bundled up and loaded into Olivia's SUV to head to Mass.

* * *

Later on that afternoon Spencer and Olivia exchanged glances before they helped their baby boy blow out his birthday candle, and a minute later they were smiling at the sight of Daniel getting himself covered with his small birthday cake.

"At least he isn't like Piper, Albert, and Ava." said Spencer.

Piper looked up at her daddy.

"What do you mean, daddy?" asked Piper.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter before saddening a bit at the thought about his oldest baby being less than four months away from turning five years old.

"When you turned one, you threw some of your cake at uncle Derek before swiping the cake onto the floor causing me to win the bet that mommy, grandpa, and I made." choked Spencer.

"Who won?" asked Piper.

"I did." said Spencer as he wiped a tear.

"Are you OK, daddy?" asked Piper.

"Its just one of the days that I miss your grandpa." said Spencer.

"I miss him too, daddy." said Piper as she hugged her daddy's good leg.

* * *

Later on that night, Spencer looked at his wife who was in tears while thinking that despite his wife now being 33 years old, she still looks beautiful.

"What's wrong?" asked Spencer as he worked on doing the stretches that his physical therapist wanted him to continue doing to reduce his slight limp.

"I'm just sad that Daniel's no longer a baby." said Olivia.

Spencer stopped stretching his bad knee and pulled his wife into a hug.

"I'm sad about that too." said Spencer before releasing his wife.

Olivia looked at her shirtless husband as he thought about the three months on crutches and a cane has caused her husband's body to get more defined.

"Almost done with your exercises?" asked Olivia as she licked her lips.

Spencer smirked at his wife.

"I'm finished with my stretches." said Spencer.

"Well on that note." said Olivia as she locked lips with her husband.

* * *

A month later Olivia looked at her husband who was zipping up his suitcase.

"You got your brace for when your knee starts to act up?" asked Olivia.

"Yes, and I'm bringing my cane along since I know that you will tell me to take it with me." said Spencer.

"That was my next question, and at least Rossi insisted on paying for first class tickets for you and mom." said Olivia.

"My bad knee will definitely appreciate his gesture, and we must get him something special for his birthday in May." said Spencer.

"We will, but for now I want us to have some mommy and daddy time before we're both on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean for two weeks." said Olivia as she locked lips with her husband before they started undressing each other.

* * *

The next evening Spencer was sitting down on a bench as he hugged his three oldest children.

"You three behave for mommy and aunt Alex, and grandma Diana and I will be back in two weeks." said Spencer before hugging all three older children tightly, "I'll miss you guys, but we'll Skype every morning DC time." said Spencer before releasing all three children.

"Love you, daddy." said Piper as she hugged her daddy tightly.

"Love you too, Piper." said Spencer before releasing his oldest, "Now please go give grandma a hug." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Piper as she ran to her grandma.

Spencer turned to Ava and hugged her.

"I love you, Ava." said Spencer.

"I love you too, daddy." said Ava as she broke out of her daddy's hug and ran to her grandma.

Spencer turned to his clone and hugged him.

"I love you, Albert." said Spencer.

"I love you too, daddy." said Albert.

20 seconds later Spencer was standing by Alex who had a still tired Daniel on her hip.

"Love you, Daniel." said Spencer as he gave his youngest son a kiss on the forehead.

Daniel happily babbled at his father while saying words that he mastered before Spencer turned to his wife who was standing next to his mom.

"I love you, and I'll miss you." said Spencer.

"I'll miss you too, but you deserve to go on a mother and son vacation with your mom." said Olivia as she gave her husband a gentle kiss on the lips.

"James and I will help Olivia out with the kids." said Alex.

"Thanks, Alex." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was leading his mom towards the gate they would be catching their flight to Paris.

* * *

A week later Diana looked at her son as they ate their dinner.

"Thank you for bringing me on this trip, Spencer." said Diana.

"Your welcome, mom." said Spencer before he grabbed one of his mother's hand, "If dad didn't die in that car accident that damaged my bad knee, he was suppose to come with us." said Spencer as he reached into his shirt and pulled out the chain that contained the cremation pendant that Olivia got him.

Diana reached into her blouse and pulled out her own cremation pendant.

"I know, but he's here with us in spirit." said Diana.

"I know, but I miss him." said Spencer.

"I miss him too." said Diana.

Spencer looked towards the Eiffel tower.

"Olivia wants to come here someday." said Spencer.

"Maybe when the kids are older you and Olivia can bring the kids here." said Diana.

"With how much fun I'm having with you, I'm already planning that a family vacation happens here." said Spencer just as their waitress approached them.

"Sir, would you like me to take you with your mother?" asked the waitress in an accented English.

"Yes please." said Spencer as he grabbed his phone and passed it to the waitress.

A minute later the waitress was taking a picture of Spencer with an arm protectively wrapped around his mom before Spencer sent the picture to Olivia and his teammates.

* * *

A week later Olivia looked at her three oldest babies as she loaded the dishwasher while Alex was upstairs giving a messy Daniel a bath.

"Daddy and grandma are coming home tomorrow." said Olivia.

"Yay!" chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"So what do you say about making welcome home sign for daddy and grandma?" asked Olivia.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all looked at each other before nodding in agreement.

"Can we each hold a sign?" asked Piper.

"We'll make three signs that you each can hold one." said Olivia.

10 minutes later Olivia was stenciling a sign that said WELCOME before giving it to Piper to decorate before creating two other signs that either said HOME and DADDY AND GRANDMA before giving the signs to Albert and Ava to decorate before Alex came down with Daniel.

"Need help at the airport tomorrow?" asked Alex.

"Yes please." said Olivia.

Alex looked at the signs that Piper, Albert, and Ava were coloring in.

"Definitely a good idea." said Alex.

"I miss daddy." said Piper.

"We all do, sweetie." said Olivia.

"I want to go to France." said Piper.

"Maybe we can all go there in a couple of years." said Olivia before looking at Piper, Albert, and Ava, "As soon as you three are done with the signs its bath time." said Olivia.

"OK, mommy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Daniel who was already bathed and in his pajamas yawned causing Olivia to take her baby boy from her mother figure.

"How about I take you to bed." said Olivia before looking at her three oldest children, "Let's give Daniel a goodnight kiss before I tuck him in." said Olivia.

A minute later Olivia was taking her baby boy up to bed while Alex supervised Piper, Albert, and Ava.

* * *

The next afternoon Olivia helped her three oldest stand in place with the three signs that either said WELCOME, HOME, AND DADDY & GRANDMA while setting Daniel's stroller next to Ava.

"I'm going to take a picture of you guys." said Olivia as she took a picture of the scene they insisted on making and sent the photo to Hotch, JJ, Rossi, Garcia, Tara, and Morgan.

SPENCER'S AND DIANA'S WELCOME HOME COMMITTEE IS CURRENTLY WAITING AT THE AIRPORT WITH ME, AND IN FIVE MINUTES I'LL FINALLY GET TO SEE MY HUSBAND AGAIN AFTER BEING SEPARATED FOR TWO WEEKS! ~ OR

As soon as Olivia pocketed her phone, she looked at her three oldest babies.

"Now you three need to avoid tackling your daddy since he's most likely going to be walking with his cane." said Olivia.

"Why?" asked Ava.

"Long flights can affect daddy's bad knee, so his knee is going to be a bit weak after sitting for a long time." said Olivia.

"OK." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

A few minutes later Piper, Albert, and Ava all grinned when they saw their smiling daddy coming towards them with their grandma who quickly grabbed their daddy's cane.

"DADDY! GRANDMA!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava as they all dropped their signs before sprinting to their daddy and grandma.

A few seconds later Spencer was tackled onto the ground by his three oldest children while he made sure to avoid re injuring his left knee causing a laughing Spencer to be giving hugs and kisses from his three oldest babies while people who were walking by were smiling at the reunion.

"I told you guys not to tackle daddy since his bad knee is still weak." scolded Olivia.

"Sorry, daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava as they climbed off their daddy.

Olivia helped her husband stand up, and as soon as Spencer had balanced himself on his cane he looked at his three oldest children.

"Its OK guys because I appreciate my welcome home committee for being creative by welcoming us home with signs." said Spencer as he gestured to the signs that were now on the ground.

"You OK?" asked Olivia as she watched her three oldest talk to their grandma who was listening to her three oldest grandchildren.

"I am, but my bad knee doesn't appreciate the long flight." said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss, and 20 seconds later Spencer and Olivia broke out of their kiss when they heard a group of teenagers wolf whistle.

"Hi." breathed Olivia.

"Hi." breathed Spencer.

"Hi." chirped Daniel.

Spencer grinned as he turned his head to look at at his 13 month old curly blonde hair and blue eyed son.

"Hi there, little man." said Spencer as he leaned forward to give his youngest son a kiss before yawning.

"We should take grandma back to the hospital before we head home so daddy can get some sleep." said Olivia.

"Can I please sleep with you two?" asked Piper.

"Sure you can, goober." said Spencer.

"Me too?" asked Albert.

"Sure, buckaroo." said Spencer before looking at Ava, "You too, birdie." said Spencer.

A few minutes later the family of six, Diana, and Alex were heading towards the exit.

* * *

Three hours later Spencer and Olivia looked at each other as they crawled into their bed where their four babies were already sleeping.

"As much as I wanted us to have alone time tonight, but the kids did miss you." whispered Olivia.

"I know, but right now I need sleep since my body is making me think that I'm still in Paris." whispered Spencer.

"I have plans for you tomorrow night, Dr. Reid." smirked Olivia.

"There are children in here." whispered Spencer as he removed his glasses and placed them onto his nightstand.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were fast asleep in their bed while cuddling with their four babies.

* * *

Two days later Piper looked at her daddy.

"Do you have to go back to work today?" asked Piper.

"I have to since mommy has work and you, Albert, and Ava have to go to school." said Spencer.

"If you don't go on a case can you take me to gymnastics tonight?" asked Piper.

Spencer sighed sadly as he thought about how much he misses out on while on cases.

"I'll be going away today since uncle Aaron and auntie Tara are currently in Tempe, Arizona consulting on a case." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at Piper.

"I'll make sure that we send a video of you doing gymnastics to daddy." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "Ready to meet your possible new teammate?" asked Olivia.

"I am." said Spencer.

"Who is your new teammate?" asked Piper.

"Special Agent Luke Alvez." said Spencer.

"How about after this case you invite him over for dinner." said Olivia.

"Yes, ma'am." said Spencer.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer pulled up into his parking spot just as JJ got out of her car, and JJ grinned when she saw Spencer.

"Welcome back." said JJ as she hugged Spencer before looking at him, "Even though Olivia has kept me updated on your trip, I want to hear about your trip myself." said JJ as she watched Spencer grab his go bag.

"OK." said Spencer as he started telling JJ about his trip while they headed into the building.

* * *

Spencer entered the bullpen with JJ.

"Then we visited the Louvres and the Eiffel tower, and the best part of all was that on the flight back Mom walked me through every moment of it. I didn't have to prompt her." said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer who has been doing much better since his father's death and being able to walk on both feet again.

"Oh, Spence, that's so great." said JJ.

"The latest research shows that diets high in omega-3 fatty acids help combat dementia, which we gorged on in Paris. I mean, honestly, if she hadn't been clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I'd just think she was a little absent-minded." said Spencer.

"You've been happier since she moved out here, Spence." said JJ.

"Even though she's doing great, there are times that she still thinks that dad is alive." said Spencer sadly before becoming serious, "What did I miss while I was gone? Tell me about Agent Alvez." said Spencer.

JJ sighed in relief as she realized that Spencer was accepting their new teammate.

"Uh, well, um, let's see, he bounced between different divisions before joining the fugitive task force." said JJ.

Spencer used his eidetic memory to think about Luke's profession before joining the FBI.

"Former army ranger, right?" asked Spencer.

"Covered most of Iraq's worst hellholes. He's a first in, last out kind of guy." said Rossi.

"What does Garcia think about him?" asked Spencer.

JJ and Rossi exchanged glances.

"She doesn't want to accept him." said JJ.

"So your willing to accept him?" asked Rossi.

"Morgan told me that I should give whoever replaces him a chance while Olivia told me that if she hears that I'm not accepting to our new teammate, the kids aren't sleeping with us for a week." said Spencer.

"We did see that picture that Olivia sent of you sleeping with the kids after you got home from Paris." said Rossi.

"I sure did miss them, and I ended up promising to the kids that I would never go away that long again." said Spencer.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer was going through files in the conference room when he heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Hey." said Luke.

Spencer turned around to see a slightly older man.

"Luke Alvez." said Luke.

"Oh, hi. I'm Dr. Spencer Reid." said Spencer.

Luke was about to hold his hand before remembering about Spencer's reputation.

"Ah. No handshaking, right?" asked Luke.

Spencer nodded while his ear length brown curls bounced.

"Your, uh, reputation precedes you." said Luke.

"So does yours. It says here that you caught our next fugitive, Daniel Cullen, three years ago. During his sentencing statement he said, "I don't kill because I don't have to." He sounds like an injustice collector. How'd you finally catch him?" asked Spencer.

"Cullen was always a suspect. We just couldn't get an ID. So, uh, my partner went deep cover, and... we caught him in the act. After I heard how he broke out in September, I wanted to be the one to put him away again." said Luke.

At that moment Rossi and JJ entered the room.

"We're leaving for Arizona in 20 minutes." said Rossi.

"Just enough time for me to call Olivia and let her know that I'm heading to her home state." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer had Olivia on the phone.

"You have a case?" asked Olivia.

"Going to Tempe, Arizona." said Spencer.

"Please stay safe." said Olivia.

"I promise, and can you please give the kids a kiss from me when you get home?" asked Spencer.

"I will as long as I get one later." said Olivia.

"I promise." said Spencer.

"I love you." said Olivia.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up before looking at Luke, "I imagine that you were told that I'm married and have four kids under the age of five?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Luke.

"Olivia told me that I should invite you over for dinner after this case so you can meet my wife and kids." said Spencer.

Luke sighed in relief as he realized that Spencer was accepting him.

"OK." said Luke.

* * *

Luke looked at Spencer who was watching a video of a little girl doing back handsprings on a mat on his personal tablet.

"Is that one of your daughters?" asked Luke.

"My oldest daughter Piper, and she will be five on June 17th." said Spencer.

"So how about you tell me about your kids since JJ and Rossi told me that you should tell me about your kids yourself." said Luke.

Spencer spent the next 15 minutes telling Luke about his children, and when he was finished Luke looked at him and noticed the love showing in Spencer's eyes.

"They sound like wonderful children." said Luke.

"They are, and Piper and Ava consider me their knight while Albert considers me a super hero." said Spencer before looking at Luke, "Do you have kids?" asked Spencer.

"I don't have kids, but I have a dog named Roxy that the others think is my girlfriend instead of a dog." said Luke.

Spencer grinned as he pulled up a picture on his tablet of Einstein with his children.

"Your secret is safe with me, and we have a five year old chocolate lab named Einstein." said Spencer.

Luke looked at the picture before focusing on the road.

"Einstein?" asked Luke.

"After Livy's and my favorite mathematician Albert Einstein and the dog Einstein from the "Back to the Future" trilogy." grinned Spencer.

"Those movies are great." said Luke.

"As soon as Garcia finds out that Roxy is actually a dog, be prepared for her to spoil her since she spoils my dog." said Spencer before looking at Luke, "Maybe we can take our dogs on a run together, Luke." said Spencer.

"That would be nice so I can get to know you better outside of work." said Luke.

"Hopefully my bad knee will cooperate, but luckily I have a brace to keep my knee stabilized while running." said Spencer.

"What do you mean?" asked Luke.

"In September of 2009, I got shot in my left knee. I ended up having two surgeries while spending three months on crutches and eventually a cane." said Spencer before sighing sadly, "Last year on November 5th, I ended up re injuring my left knee when my father and I were hit by a drunk driver." said Spencer.

"Are you and your dad both OK?" asked Luke.

"I ended up getting off the cane two months ago, but my dad died on the operating table." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry, man." said Luke.

"Its OK since I accepted my father's death, and I take it that you weren't told about my mom." said Spencer.

"I was only told that you were on vacation with your mom." said Luke.

"My mom has paranoid schizophrenia, and during November of 2015 she got diagnosed with late onset Alzheimer's and Dementia." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Despite how well she has been doing, I knew that I needed to take my mom on a memorable vacation before her Alzheimer's takes over." said Spencer.

"So where is your mom hospitalized?" asked Luke.

"She spent over 16 years at Bennington Sanitarium in my hometown Las Vegas, Nevada before she insisted on transferring to the inpatient psychiatric clinic at Georgetown University Hospital to make everything easier for Olivia, the kids, and me." said Spencer.

* * *

Later on that night, Hotch and Tara joined Spencer.

"So how was Paris?" asked Hotch.

Spencer grinned at Hotch and Tara as he decided to recount his trip to Paris in French causing Tara to laugh.

"I think Hotch would appreciate you speaking in English." said Tara.

"I know, but I had fun getting to speak in French the entire time and translate for my mom." said Spencer before telling Hotch and Tara about his trip, and when he was finished he looked at Hotch.

"I still have to give you the souvenir that I bought for Jack." said Spencer.

"You didn't have to get him anything." said Hotch, "If I bought my kids souvenirs, I have to buy souvenirs for Jack, Henry, Michael, and Hank too." said Spencer.

* * *

The next evening Luke rang the doorbell and Spencer answered the door with Piper on his back.

"I'm glad that you could make it." said Spencer as he stepped aside to let Luke into the house.

Luke took a look around the living room before looking at Spencer who still had Piper on his back.

"You have a nice house." said Luke.

"Thanks." said Spencer before swinging Piper off his back, "Piper, I want you to meet my new coworker Luke Alvez." said Spencer.

"Hi." said Piper shyly.

Luke took in the sight of the four year old girl who had her long curly light brown hair pulled into two pigtails while wearing purple glasses.

"Hi there, cutie." said Luke just as he saw two other kids running down the stairs causing him to realize that they were the Reid twins.

"No running down the stairs." said Spencer sternly.

Albert and Ava slowed down, and as soon as they reached their father they looked at him.

"Sorry, daddy." said Albert and Ava in unison.

"Its OK, but I want to introduce you two to Luke Alvez." said Spencer.

Albert and Ava looked at Luke.

"Hi, Luke." said Ava.

Luke looked at the youngest female Reid.

"Hi there, sweetie." said Luke.

"Daddy say that you were in the army." said Albert as he stared at Luke in awe.

Luke looked at the nearly four year old boy who was a replica of his father.

"I was." said Luke.

"You want to see my toy soldiers?" asked Albert.

"Sure." said Luke before looking at Spencer, "Where's your youngest?" asked Luke.

"He's taking a nap in his playpen." said Spencer just as Olivia came into the living room.

"Dinner is currently in the oven and will be done in 15 minutes." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at Luke.

"Luke, I want you to meet my wife Dr. Olivia Reid." said Spencer.

Luke looked at the younger woman.

"Its nice to meet you, and what type of doctor are you?" asked Luke.

"I have a PhD in advanced mathematics and I have a Masters in education." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Luke was in the living room with Spencer, Olivia, and the three older Reid children where he saw Daniel standing up in his playpen wide awake.

"Let's get you into a clean diaper, little man." said Spencer as he made his way to his youngest son and scooped him up before getting onto the floor where he quickly changed Daniel's diaper before looking at Luke, "This is Daniel, and he's going to be 14 months old in about two weeks." said Spencer.

10 minutes later Piper's stomach growled.

"I am hungry." said Piper.

Olivia looked at the clock before looking at her oldest daughter.

"Dinner will be done in five minutes." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at his three oldest children.

"Let's go wash our hands." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer was in the first floor bathroom with the kids while Luke was in the kitchen with Olivia.

"Do you need any help with setting the table at all?" asked Luke.

"That would be wonderful." said Olivia as she pointed out where the plates, forks, and knifes were.

Five minutes later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, Ava, and Luke were all holding hands while Spencer said Grace before the family of six and Luke started eating dinner, and after dinner both Spencer and Luke ended up playing the Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.


	34. Taboo

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 33._

 _This chapter takes place a month after the last chapter so its now May 9th of 2017 and Sick Day has passed. Emily will now be in this story, and Hotch will appear in the chapter that deals with Elliot's Pond since I already have Hotch's future with the FBI planned out._

* * *

Olivia woke up at 5:30 AM to her shirtless husband putting on his brace over his bad knee.

"Going to get a run in before we work together on getting Piper, Albert, and Ava ready for school?" asked Olivia as she licked her lips at the sight of her shirtless husband.

Spencer smirked at his wife.

"Yes, and I'm planning on taking Einstein with me." said Spencer.

Olivia laughed as she thought about how their five year old chocolate lab loves going running with Spencer as he pulled on one of his many FBI t-shirts.

"He's going to love it, but remember to take it easy." said Olivia.

"I promise." said Spencer.

"While your going on that run, I'll get breakfast started while rousing the kids for school." said Olivia before smirking, "And with waking up to you being shirtless, I expect a show from you later." smirked Olivia.

"Yes, ma'am." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was hooking Einstein up to his leash before taking his beloved dog on a two mile run.

* * *

Spencer entered the house with Einstein, and a minute later he entered the kitchen where Olivia was making pancakes, homemade shredded hash browns, and scrambled eggs.

"Hey." said Spencer.

Olivia turned around from the stove and licked her lips at the sight of her sweaty husband who was getting himself some water.

"Did you have a good run?" asked Olivia.

"Ran two miles, and my knee's OK." said Spencer.

"Good." said Olivia before looking at the clock, "As soon as your done with your shower, please start rousing the kids." said Olivia.

"Yes, ma'am." said Spencer as he gave his wife a kiss before heading upstairs.

* * *

A half hour later Piper who was in her school uniform looked at her daddy as they ate breakfast.

"How long is auntie Emily going to be here?" asked Piper.

Spencer took a sip of his heavily sugared coffee.

"A couple of weeks while uncle Aaron is on temporary duty." said Spencer.

"Where is uncle Aaron?" asked Piper.

"I don't know, Goober." said Spencer before smiling a bit at Piper, Albert, and Ava who were all wearing their school uniforms, "But he told me that he will take you all out for ice cream as soon as he gets back." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava.

* * *

Spencer was standing at his desk going over a file when he heard a familiar voice.

"Some things never change." said Emily.

Spencer turned around to see Emily holding a big pink box and to see JJ giving Emily a kiss on the cheek causing him to rush over to Emily.

"Welcome back!" exclaimed Spencer as he gave Emily a tight hug before addressing the box in Emily's hands "Doughnuts?" asked Spencer.

Emily nodded.

"Wait, did you happen to get..." asked Spencer.

"Chocolate frosted with sprinkles? How could I forget your favorite?" asked a smiling Emily.

"Yes!" exclaimed Spencer as he opened up the box and grabbed a doughnut and started eating it.

"It is so great to see you. Even if it's only temporary." said JJ as she grabbed a doughnut.

"Well, when Hotch told me the director tapped him for special assignment, I wanted to help out. More so when he said you guys still have escaped serial killers you have to catch, on top of your normal caseload?" asked Emily as she looked at the two young parents who both had spouses and kids to go home to.

"Lewis is going to be sorry she missed you." said Spencer.

"Oh, yeah, me, too." sighed Emily as she put her bag onto Luke's desk.

"That's actually Luke Alvez's desk." said Spencer.

"Really? It looks empty." said Emily as she thought about Spencer and JJ both having pictures of their families on their desks.

"Uh, well, he travels light." said JJ.

Emily placed her bag on another desk.

"Garcia said he was ex-army. Came over from the Fugitive Task Force?" asked Emily.

"Yeah, you're gonna like him." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel all love him." said Spencer.

Emily smiled at the mention of Spencer's kids.

"You know, the lack of personal effects on his desk could stem from his days as a fugitive hunter. He probably felt like he was never once place long enough to dig in. I mean, no family photos, no significant others." said Emily as Spencer and JJ noticed Luke coming towards them causing them to try and tell Emily that Luke's behind her, "Not even a plant to over water. I mean, this Alvez could be a real loner type. Somebody could have done a real number on this guy. An ex, maybe. I mean, no doubt the army taught him order and discipline, but a desk like this could mean he has commitment issues. He's behind me right now, isn't he?" asked Emily.

Spencer laughed as he made eye contact with Luke.

"Luke Alvez, meet Emily Prentiss who is also Daniel's godmother." said Spencer.

Emily turned around and held out her hand to Luke.

"Hey. Nice to meet you." said Emily.

Luke shook hands with Emily.

"Hey." said Luke.

"Emily used to be part of our team, and now she's the unit chief for Interpol in London." said Spencer.

"Yeah, she's agreed to help us out while Hotch is off on a TDY and Lewis works on her research." said JJ.

"I'm on temporary duty, so I'll be in and out. I'll be working on and off. I'm on today. Obviously. I'm just... I'm really happy that I could, uh, come back, you know, and help... Truth be told, it's pretty hard to resist putting the band back together again, so..." said Emily as she glanced at Spencer and JJ, "Yeah, so, I'm here to help." said Emily.

"Well, we have a lot on our plate." said Luke just as Garcia started heading towards the break area.

"Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear." said a muttering Garcia as she headed towards the stairs that leads to the conference room.

"Speaking of which, looks like we have a case." said JJ.

A minute later Spencer was smiling when Garcia gasped at the sight of Emily.

"Hey, Garcia." said Emily as she pulled Garcia into a hug.

"You really are here. It's a dream come true." said Garcia.

"Have you met Luke Alvez?" asked Rossi as he gestured to a smiling Luke.

Emily grimaced.

"Oh, yeah, we just met." said Luke.

"So you know how I like to sometimes say something clever before I say something sad and disturbing to self-soothe. To that end, uh, please make sure your seat backs and your tray tables are in their fully upright position, because yesterday in South Florida, the body of a woman was found encased in concrete in a 55-gallon drum. Lisa Barclay, 35, single mom, lived with her 13-year-old son in Boynton Beach." said Garcia as everyone looked at a crime scene photo.

"If she was encased in concrete, how did they ID her?" asked JJ.

"Because the ME was able to match prints from 3 of her fingers that broke through the surface." said Garcia as she showed a picture.

"When did she go missing?" asked Emily.

"About a week ago. Where did they find the drum?" asked Rossi.

"At an illegal dump site. Some teenagers found it." said Garcia.

"Uh, local P.D. needs to canvass the area for more possible victims." said JJ.

"They're doing that right now." said Garcia.

"Any signs of sexual assault?" asked Luke.

"That is unclear at this time because they're still removing the concrete from her body." said Garcia.

"Burying his victim like this may be the unsub's form of torture." said Emily.

"It could be a forensic countermeasure." said Rossi.

"Or a sign of remorse or undoing." said Spencer.

"Unfortunately, all of you could be right, because..." said Garcia as she showed another picture.

"Is... is that..." asked JJ.

"An ultrasound of the drum." said Garcia.

Everyone noticed that Lisa's mouth was open.

"Lisa Barclay was still alive when he put her in there." said Rossi.

A minute later Spencer was at his desk calling Olivia.

"Have a case?" answered Olivia.

"Going to Boynton Beach, Florida." said Spencer.

"Please stay safe, and I'll let Alex know to inform Albert and Ava that you won't be coming home tonight while I inform Piper after school." said Olivia.

"I promise to stay safe, and I'll make sure to call at bedtime." said Spencer.

"I have to get going. So I love you." said Olivia.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up.

* * *

Spencer who was sitting between the window and Emily looked at his teammates.

"Lisa Barclay lived a low-risk lifestyle. She and her son moved to Boynton Beach after her divorce four years ago." said Spencer.

"So is this the work of a jealous ex?" asked Emily.

"Unlikely. It appears the divorce was amicable. The ex-husband remarried and lives in Texas." said Rossi.

"He sends child support checks like clockwork." said Luke.

"She worked as an assistant bank manager. If she was known as a whistle blower, this could be a way of silencing her." said JJ.

"What bumps me is how the unsub disposed of the barrel. I mean, there's no way that he lifted that sucker up. It must weigh..." said Luke.

"542 pounds, give or take. Depending on such factors as moisture content of the concrete, the victim's body weight, and the laws of displacement." said Spencer before giving Emily a slight smile.

"Which still begs the question, how did he lift it?" asked Luke.

"We could be looking at two unsubs, maybe?" asked JJ.

Garcia's face popped up on the open laptop.

"Guys, I hate to interrupt, but a second drum has been found with a woman's body encased in concrete inside it." said Garcia.

"Where?" asked JJ.

"At another illegal dump site not far from where Lisa Barclay was found." said Garcia.

"Two women in literal dump sites. He must view his victims as garbage." said Emily.

Rossi looked at his teammates.

"Prentiss, you and I will check out the latest crime scene. JJ, set up at the local P.D. Spencer, Luke, talk to the ME." said Rossi.

Spencer's phone vibrated, and a few seconds later Spencer was smiling at a picture of 14 month old Daniel.

"Check out your godson." said Spencer.

Emily looked at the picture of the curly blonde hair and blue eyed toddler.

"I just can't believe that he's 14 months old." sighed Emily.

"I know." said Spencer.

"I just love it how he inherited your curls despite having your mother's blonde hair, Spencer." said Emily.

"Livy's happy that Piper, Albert, and Danial all have curly hair just like me, while I'm happy that Ava's a clone of her mother." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer and Luke entered the medical examiner's office to find Dr. Durboraw using a drill.

"Dr. Durboraw?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Durboraw kept on drilling until she saw two agents causing Spencer to speak again.

"Dr. Durboraw. Hi." said Spencer as he grabbed his badge from his pocket.

"Sorry. I didn't hear you come in." said Dr. Durboraw.

Spencer flashed his badge.

"I'm Dr. Spencer Reid. This is agent Alvez." said Spencer before crouching down a bit to look at one of the drums, "The unsub may have a gender preference, but not race." said Spencer before walking to the other drum.

"How long had Lisa Barclay been in the drum?" asked Luke.

"Based on the condition of the body, about a week." said Dr. Durboraw.

Spencer looked at Lisa's body.

"Ligature marks. He restrained her. Have you determined COD?" asked Spencer.

"X-rays showed she had concrete in her mouth, trachea, and lungs. She drowned in it. I won't know more until I can complete a full exam." said Dr. Durboraw.

Luke looked at the unidentified woman's body.

"She shows severe decomposition, but we should be able to ID her through DNA or dental records of other missing women in the area." said Luke.

Spencer lifted up a glass bottle of liquid and some tissue.

"I see you tried dermal tissue re-hydration to get her fingerprints." said Spencer as he held up the bottle.

"My initial examination noted friction ridges were still visible." said Dr. Durboraw.

Luke looked at the bottle that Spencer was shaking slightly.

"You can rehydrate mummified skin?" asked Luke.

"It's a method adapted from an archaeological study on Egyptian mummies. The loose re-hydrated skin is then slipped over a living person's fingertip and it's used to get the victim's print." said Spencer.

"I'm running them through the system now." said Dr. Durboraw.

"You know, we initially thought that she was the second victim. But the mummification indicates that she was actually killed before Lisa Barclay, making her the original known victim." said Spencer while Luke picked up a piece of broken off concrete.

"I'd say a month before." said Dr. Durboraw.

"This isn't the pre-mixed ready-to-use kind, which means that he went through the trouble to mix his own sand, cement, and gravel." said Luke.

"He obviously has the skills to make it himself or access to it through his job." said Spencer.

* * *

An hour later Detective Ogilvie smiled when he saw Spencer.

"Nice to see you again, Dr. Reid." said Detective Ogilvie.

"You too." said Spencer.

"So may I see a picture of your grown up little girl?" asked Detective Ogilvie as he thought about the picture of the baby girl that was four months old at the time he worked with Spencer.

Spencer grinned as he pulled his latest family photo out of his wallet.

"Other than Piper turning five years old next month, my wife and I ended up having three more children." said Spencer as he pointed out which child is which and gave their ages.

Detective Ogilvie looked at the picture.

"Such a beautiful family." said Detective Ogilvie.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was looking at Kim's body when Dr. Durboraw looked at him.

"I hate to use the word "luck" in this situation, but it was fortunate you found the latest victim so quickly. The concrete had no time to cure completely." said Dr. Durboraw.

Spencer looked at Kim's body.

"She has the same ligature marks as Lisa Barclay." said Spencer.

"The C.O.D. is the same, too. She drowned in the concrete." said Dr. Durboraw.

"Any sign of sexual assault?" asked Spencer.

"I'm still conducting my exam, but I can tell you that based on core body temperature and lividity, time of death was about two hours ago." said Dr. Durboraw.

"Kim Conti went missing 18 hours ago, but he kept her alive for some reason." said Spencer before looking at the body, "I see that there's tissue damage. Have you tested that?" asked Spencer.

"Not yet. But concrete itself can be corrosive." said Dr. Durboraw.

Spencer looked at the damage more.

"There appears to be more damage here." said Spencer as he pointed at Kim's nose, "Do you have a light I can borrow?" asked Spencer.

Dr. Durboraw passed Spencer a small flashlight.

"Thanks." said Spencer as he turned on the flashlight, "It's chemical burns. Look." said Spencer.

Dr. Durboraw took the flashlight and looked before looking at Spencer.

"What are you thinking?" asked Dr. Durboraw.

"I'm thinking concrete may not have been the only factor in her death." said Spencer.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was standing in front of the police force with his teammates.

"We're looking for a white male, 30 to 40 years old, who may be performing crude chemical lobotomies on his victims." started Rossi.

"It appears he's drilling up through the nasal cavity in order to insert chlorine into his victims' brains." said Spencer.

"Chlorine?" asked Detective Oglivie.

"Concentrated chlorine is highly corrosive." said JJ.

"This suggests he's trying to destroy their frontal lobes. That area of the brain controls impulse and inhibition." said Emily.

"Didn't Jeffrey Dahmer want to create sex slave zombies?" asked Detective Oglivie.

"Yes. And like Dahmer, he may be looking for a way to find power and control over his victims. In this case, 30-something single mothers with young sons. His knowledge of the dump sites indicates that he's comfortable here and likely lives or works in the area." said Rossi.

"He's probably physically fit and may drive a large van or a pickup in order to transport the drums." said Luke.

"It's doubtful that he has any medical training, and when his experiments fail, he may be entombing his victims as a forensic countermeasure." said Spencer.

"The use of chlorine combined with his masonry skills suggests he's some sort of tradesman." said JJ.

"Let's look at contractors, pool builders. He could also be part of a highway road crew." said Luke.

"The dump site area is important to him. We need your help to find out why. In the meantime, single moms with young sons should remain vigilant. Thank you." finished Rossi.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was looking at the crime scenes photo when Emily answered a call from Garcia.

"What do you have, Garcia?" asked Emily.

Spencer made his way closer and crossed his arms.

"So, I'm looking for workers that Malcolm Landon may have come into contact with at the condo complex he lived at with his mom, and it turns out that the complexes where all 3 victims lived shared not only the same property management company but the same cable provider, contractors, gardeners, pool maintenance, and security companies." said Garcia.

"Narrow the search to employees from each complex that were working the days the victims went missing." instructed Emily.

"Well, we think the same, soul sister, because I am currently swimming through time cards and employment records. And by swimming, I don't mean like the glammy olympic way. It's sort of a slog and nothing really matches up." said Garcia.

"Well, transient workers and day laborers often provide false IDs." said Spencer.

"What about the sales of 55-gallon drums, chlorine, and the materials to make concrete?" asked Rossi.

"Yes. I have cross-matched that with South Floridians who drive super duper trucks." said Garcia.

"And?" asked Rossi.

"I have come up with a list that is good and plenty, which, by the way, is my current favorite candy." said Garcia.

"It's that long?" asked Emily.

"Well, yeah, but there's a lot of housing projects going up, there's roads being paved, and it's The Sunshine State. Do you know how many pools need to stay sparkling clean?" asked Garcia.

"Have you found anyone who lives or works within the geo-profile area?" asked Emily.

"Uh-uh. So far with that I've come up with a big fat goose egg." said Garcia sadly.

"OK, Garcia, keep searching." said Rossi.

"Oh, I will leave nothing unturned. Good-bye." said Garcia before hanging up.

Emily stood up.

"All right. We profiled this guy may view the disposal sites as a cemetery, hallowed ground." said Emily as she, Spencer, and Rossi looked at the crime scene photos.

"It that's true, he most likely will be compelled to revisit the area." said Rossi.

"But the drums have been removed. His victims aren't there anymore." said Spencer.

"Well, if he doesn't live or work in the area, there's some emotional reason he's putting the barrels there. We need to stake it out." said Rossi.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was standing in the conference room in the police department.

"So we said the unsub may be performing the lobotomies on his victims to manipulate their inhibitions." said Emily.

"People who experience frontal lobe damage often become aggressive, with heightened sex drives." said Spencer as his cellphone rang causing him to answer a phone call from the ME.

"He may want to alter the sexual behavior of his victims." said JJ.

"Yeah, but when he becomes bored with them or the women don't do what he wants them to do, then he moves on to the next victim." said Luke.

"Thank you so much." said Spencer before hanging up and looked at his teammates, "Guys, that was the ME. She's completed her exams on all 3 victims and found no sign of sexual assault." said Spencer.

* * *

"Even though there was no sexual assault, the use of a lovers lane as a dump site suggests a sexual component." said Emily.

"And the lobotomies are still probably the unsub's way of exerting control over his victims." said JJ.

"It could go back to his childhood. He's trying to gain a control he never had." said Luke.

"It seems primitive now, but in the 1940s and '50s, cutting portions of the brain was believed to rid a patient of delusions, nervousness." said Rossi.

"Instead, most of those patients experienced loss of memory, motor skills, and language." said Spencer.

"That happened to JFK's older sister Rosemary. She suffered brain damage at birth. At 23, her father secretly arranged to have doctors perform a lobotomy. It was a misguided attempt to control mood swings and sexual behavior." said JJ.

"Maybe, instead of trying to turn on his victims' sexuality, our guy is trying to turn the switch off." said Rossi.

At that moment Spencer got up and walked over to the clear board, and after looking at the board for five minutes, JJ looked at him.

"You see something, Spence?" asked JJ.

"It's what Rossi said. What if the unsub is deliberately damaging his victims' brains in his own misguided hope of fixing them?" asked Spencer.

"He targets single moms. He could be trying to cure them of their sexuality." said Rossi.

"To turn them into what he considers to be good, well-behaved mothers." said Emily.

"So most likely his own mother or another woman close to him has brain damage." said said Luke.

Emily quickly got Garcia on Skype.

"Garcia, we need your help." said Emily.

"Fire when ready." said Garcia.

"We are looking for local women who have or have been treated for a brain injury or disorder." said

"I have 19 names." said Garcia.

"Well, he's targeting women in their mid-30s. How many fall into that category?" asked JJ.

"Three women suffered traumatic brain injury and all due to accidents. I have a car crash, fall off a horse, and a surfing incident." said Garcia.

"Any of them have damage to the frontal lobe?" asked Luke.

"One. Lynelle Barker, 36, of West Palm Beach. When she was 15, she was in a car crash that killed her father, Edward Barker. She wasn't wearing her seat belt. Soon after that, she was diagnosed with something called Kluver‐Bucy Syndrome." said Garcia.

"Kluver‐Bucy Syndrome is a neurological disorder associated with frontal lobe damage. One of its major symptoms is hypersexuality." said Spencer as he thought about how lucky he was with escaping the crash with a dislocated knee and a minor concussion.

"If Lynelle Barker was acting out sexually, she may have a husband or a boyfriend who was upset about it." said JJ.

"Garcia, was she getting treatment for her condition?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah, a month ago she started seeing a therapist and taking medication." said Garcia.

"That's when Sharon Landon, the first victim, went missing." said Emily.

"If the victims were surrogates of Lynelle and she was no longer hypersexual thanks to treatment, why would the unsub suddenly start killing?" asked Rossi.

"Garcia, can you check males 35 to 40 that would have been in Lynelle's circle of family and friends?" asked Luke.

"Bien sûr, je peux." said Garcia.

Spencer quickly realized something.

"The lovers lane, the crude lobotomies, the possible sexual dysfunction... This could all speak to the unsub's youth." said Spencer.

"Garcia, refine your search to men between 18 and 25." said Rossi.

"Refining. Lynelle has a 20-year-old brother named Stuart. He lives with his mother in West Palm Beach." said Garcia.

"16 years is a big age difference between siblings." said JJ.

"Oh. That's because Stuart was adopted. Gloria barker adopted him a year after Lynelle and Gloria's husband were in that car crash. And brace yourselves, because methinks I'm about to uncover some family dirt of the hidden variety. OK, just days before Gloria adopted Stuart, Lynelle, Gloria's daughter, then 16, had a baby. And I am prying open the sealed adoption records now. And, um... Yeah, guess what." said Garcia.

"Stuart's sister is actually his mother." said Spencer.

"Uh-huh." said Garcia.

"And the woman he thought was his mother is actually his grandmother." said Emily.

"Guys, Stuart does repairs at a place called Blue Breeze Pools, that have worked at all 3 condo complexes." said Garcia.

"Was he working the days the victims disappeared?" asked Rossi.

"Yahtzee! Go get him." said Garcia.

"Send us his home and work addresses." said Luke as he got up.

"Oh, newbie, already sent." said Garcia.

* * *

Spencer was in the front seat of the SUV that JJ was driving heading to Stuart's work address while conferencing in with Rossi, Emily, and Luke.

"If Stuart believed he had an older, hypersexual sister he wasn't biologically related to, he might have been attracted to her." said Emily.

"He may have convinced himself that it wouldn't be wrong to sleep with her." said Luke.

"But what about Lynelle? Would she really have encouraged her own son?" asked JJ.

"The taboo of incest is believed to be hard-wired in our DNA. Even with Kluver-Bucy, it's unlikely she would have crossed that line." said Spencer.

"Which could have enraged Stuart. Talk about a traumatized love map." said Emily.

"If he found out the truth about his sister, that could be a trigger for the killings." said Rossi.

* * *

Later on that evening JJ, Garcia, and Emily looked at Spencer who was closing his file.

"Are you wanting to come along to O'Keefe's?" asked JJ.

Spencer shook his head.

"I promised the kids that I would come straight home since they still get scared when I'm gone for a couple of days." said Spencer.

"Its OK, Spence." said JJ as she thought about how four kids are harder to raise than two.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"How about I come over for dinner tomorrow." said Emily.

"That would be great." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the elevator.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer entered the house, and he smiled when Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel who were all in their pajamas came running over to him.

"Daddy!" cried Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

Spencer slowly knelt down and hugged his four babies.

"I missed you guys." said Spencer as he gave each child a kiss before standing up.

Olivia came into the foyer.

"Welcome home." said Olivia.

"Its good to be home." said Spencer as he hugged and kissed his wife, "So what has to be done?" asked Spencer.

"Have you eaten supper yet?" asked Olivia.

Spencer hoisted up his 14 month old son and settled Daniel onto his hip.

"Garcia had pizza waiting for us, so I ate while doing paper work." said Spencer.

"Can we please watch a movie?" asked Piper.

Spencer looked at his four kids and decided that showering can wait until after the kids were asleep.

"We sure can." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was on the couch with Olivia and the kids watching a movie as they cuddled.

* * *

90 minutes later Spencer looked at his three oldest children who were still awake while Olivia came downstairs from putting Daniel to bed.

"Its bedtime." said Spencer.

"I don't want to go to bed." pouted Piper.

"Its a school night, Goober." said Spencer sternly.

"OK." sighed Piper.

"How about I read you munchkins two stories?" asked Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, and Ava.

A minute later Spencer was heading upstairs with Piper, Albert, and Ava while Olivia cleaned up the living room.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer entered the master bathroom to see Olivia already in the bathtub causing him to sit on the edge of the tub.

"They're asleep." said Spencer.

"Good." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "So are you going to undress and join me or will I have to pull you in fully clothed?" asked Olivia.

Spencer quickly got up and started undressing himself while Olivia enjoyed the show that her husband was giving her before Spencer climbed into their claw foot bathtub.

* * *

The next evening Spencer and Olivia laughed as they watched Piper, Albert, and Ava tackle Emily down onto the floor.

"I missed you guys." said Emily as she gave all three older children each a hug and a kiss.

"I missed you too, auntie Emily." said Piper.

Emily looked at Albert and Ava.

"Excited about turning four in three weeks?" asked Emily.

"Yes." said Albert and Ava in unison.

"Luckily I'll be here for your birthday party." said Emily before looking at Piper, "Are you excited about turning five next month?" asked Emily.

"Yes, and my friends from school and gymnastics are coming to my party." said Piper.

Daniel babbled at his godmother while saying words that he mastered.

"I just can't believe how big your getting." said Emily as he smoothed back the 14 month old toddler's blonde curly hair.

The oven timer went off causing Olivia to look at everyone.

"Its time to wash up for dinner." said Olivia.

Five minutes later the Reid family and Emily were eating dinner together while Emily listened to Piper, Albert, and Ava tell her how kindergarten and preschool have been going for them and how excited they were about summer vacation coming up in two weeks.


	35. Keeper

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison, Hippichic81,_ _and_ _southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 34._

 _I'm not changing the dynamics of the team emotionally at all since killing William Reid off means that when Spencer is on cases, Olivia has to manage four kids in the mornings and evenings by herself while managing a full time job. None of the team gets upset when Spencer bails out on going out for drinks since they know that Spencer doesn't want his marriage to fail like Hotch's and Haley's did while knowing that Olivia has it harder with the kids than Will LaMontagne since Spencer and Olivia have four kids under the age of five while JJ and Will have two kids under the age of nine (Henry is currently 8 and Michael is currently 20 months old)._

 _2: Also Mr. Scratch was killed off in Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three so now this story will be practically AU since there is no Witness Protection program for Hotch and Jack. Walker will still join the BAU despite me having Spencer make a career change within the upcoming chapters._

 _Now with this chapter, I should tell you readers that Spencer is not going to get his mom into any clinical trials since his mom made him promise not to try and cure her Alzheimer's and Dementia. So we don't get to see a happy and excited Spencer in this chapter while doing an AU twist with the phone call that Spencer gets_ _since Diana is in DC instead of Las Vegas_ _._

 _P_ _lease don't hate me for Diana's request in this cha_ _p_ _ter since Diana_ _is thinking about_ _Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel_ _'s safety_ _._ _I also included some lines from the episode "Unforgettable" since I won't be doing that episode at all._

* * *

Spencer looked at Olivia as they got ready for bed.

"I ended up getting a call from Dr. Hauser earlier, and mom's been more aggressive lately." sighed Spencer.

"So do you think she will be gone soon?" asked Olivia.

Spencer nodded as a tear fell down his face.

"A death of a loved one can affect Alzheimer's patients." said Spencer.

Olivia pulled her husband into a hug.

* * *

The next morning Piper looked at her daddy while they ate breakfast.

"Can we please go see grandma tonight?" asked Piper.

Spencer shook his head.

"I don't know if I'll be going away today, and if your grandma is having a bad day, she can't have visitors." said Spencer.

"OK." sighed Piper.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer entered the conference room with Garcia and Rossi.

"Just spoke to Hotch. He's still on TDY but available for consulting if we need him." said Rossi.

"OK, so for those of us who kvetch about our AM commute, this will put it in perspective. This AM a Virginia State Trooper discovered a bag of dismembered body parts. They were with a homeless man's belongings. That homeless man then fled into the mountains." said Garcia as she showed a picture of the trail.

Emily quickly recognized the trail along with Spencer and Rossi.

"The Appalachian Trail." said Emily.

Luke noticed the looks on Spencer's, Emily's, and Rossi's faces.

"Am I, uh, missing something?" asked Luke.

"We had a case in the same general area six and a half years ago. The unsub was never caught." said Spencer.

"That guy was a pedophile. Do the body parts in Virginia belong to a child?" asked Rossi.

"They do not." said Garcia.

"Well, if there's a silver lining in this, that would qualify." said JJ as she thought about how she was with the State Department when Spencer, Morgan, Hotch, Rossi, Emily, and Garcia worked that case.

"The trail does have some history. In the early 1980s, Randall Lee Smith killed two hikers there. He served 15 years, got released, then went back to the exact same spot and tried to kill two more people." said Spencer.

"Maybe there's something in the water." said Rossi.

"Saving body parts is like collecting souvenirs, right?" asked Luke.

"That's one possibility. It could also be a forensic countermeasure." said Emily.

"Or he's keeping them as trophies." said JJ.

"Well, homeless people often suffer from crippling mental illness. I mean, is it possible he stumbled across the body and then collected the limbs?" asked Tara.

"You mean like a hoarder?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, maybe." said Tara.

"Compulsive irrational gathering of objects is a common psychosis among the long-term homeless." said Spencer while Rossi looked at his phone.

"Flushing people out of terrain like this is tough. I mean really tough. We all know that Eric Rudolph evaded capture in this same wilderness for over five years." said Luke.

"Preliminary M.E. report..." said Rossi causing Spencer to lean in a bit so he could follow along, "The body parts came from at least five different victims." said Rossi.

"Well, that settles that. The unsub didn't stumble on anything. He's serial." said JJ.

"This happened less than 90 miles away. It'll be quicker to drive." said Emily.

Rossi looked at his phone.

"Our local M.E. isn't equipped to handle all this, so the body parts are being sent to the coroner here. Prentiss, you and Reid, you head out there. The rest of us will set up at the crime scene." ordered Rossi.

* * *

Spencer looked at the trays that contained the remains of the victims that were found.

"Five victims. Four male, one female, all Caucasian." said ME Olwyler.

"It makes sense his victim pool would skew male. Men are more likely to go into a remote area alone." said Emily.

"The fact that he also killed a woman suggests the unsub doesn't have a preference at all. These are victims of opportunity." said Spencer.

"Any estimates on their ages?" asked Emily.

"Well, the men are 40 to 50. Female was younger. Early to mid-20s." said ME Olwyler.

"We'll run DNA, see if we get any hits. It's a long shot, but we might get lucky." said Emily.

Spencer looked at one tray of limbs.

"The limbs don't appear to be removed with any skill or precision." said Spencer.

"They weren't. It was a hatchet job, literally." said ME Olwyler.

"What about cause of death? I mean, granted, being hacked into pieces would do the trick, but..." said Emily.

"You know, without the full corpse it's almost impossible to tell. And the tox screen on the female showed no drugs or poison in her system." said ME Olwyler.

"Do we know how long ago they were killed?" asked Spencer.

"Difficult to pinpoint given the exposure to the elements. But one set of limbs was a lot older than the others. Almost a year, year and a half. Best guess on the other 3 males, 8 months, 5 months, 2 months. Female remains were the freshest. Recent as a week." said ME Olwyler.

Spencer looked at Emily.

"So he killed one victim and then he fell dormant for a while." said Spencer quietly.

"But he's back to it with a vengeance. His rate of kills is accelerating." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer looked at the bulletin board that was set up at the area where JJ, Rossi, Luke, and Tara decided to set up camp.

"M.E. says the body count is up to seven. Latest two also white males in their 40s." said Rossi.

"You know, Kylie Fleming texted that she saw something creepy. If she surprised the unsub in the midst of a kill, it would explain why she was the anomaly. She wasn't targeted like the other victims. She was a witness who had to be silenced." said Spencer.

"Which means our initial profile was incorrect. The unsub does have a victim selection preference." said Rossi.

Spencer nodded before looking at the board.

* * *

Spencer was waiting by the victim's truck with Rossi when JJ came over to them.

"The victim's name is Howard Walker. He was picking up pizza and beer for the family dinner." said JJ.

"We're a half mile or more from where Lewis and Alvez apprehended the unsub." said Spencer.

"It's a long way to transport the victim if he doesn't have a vehicle." said JJ.

At that moment Spencer's phone went off causing Spencer to see Will's number causing him to walk away and answer his phone.

"Is everything OK, Will?" asked Spencer.

"I was doing a daily patrol when I saw your mama wandering around the park near the hospital, and it turned out that she snuck away from the hospital." said Will as he explained the incident about his mother not remembering who she is and scaring a bunch of children.

When Will was done, Spencer spoke up.

"Are you still with my mom right now?" asked Spencer quietly.

"I am since I told her that I would call you." said Will.

"Please put her on." said Spencer.

For the next minute Spencer talked to his mom, and when he was finished with his phone call JJ and Rossi approached them.

"Everything OK, Spence?" asked JJ.

"Yeah." said Spencer before noticing the looks that JJ and Rossi were giving them, "No. Will just called, and he found my mom wandering around the park near her living facility. She didn't know who she was or how she got there." sighed Spencer.

"Oh no. Is she OK now?" asked JJ as she inwardly thanked her husband for being there for Diana.

"Yeah. Will put her on the phone. She sounded normal, just obviously embarrassed, you know, by all the fuss." said Spencer.

Rossi instantly thought about how Diana's condition has slowly been deteriorating since William Reid's death.

"You should go." said Rossi.

"I can't do that. We're right in the middle..." protested Spencer.

"Hey. We'll be fine here. Go." said Rossi.

"Rossi's right, Spence. This is a priority." said JJ.

"OK. Thanks. I'm gonna go to the M.E.'s office and grab something for Prentiss, but I'll pull myself off the case tomorrow morning to spend a day or two with mom." said Spencer as he thought about how lucky he is to have his mom in DC.

"Take all the time you need." said Rossi.

A few seconds later Spencer was getting into the driver's seat of an SUV, and as soon as he got onto the highway he called Olivia.

* * *

Meanwhile at Georgetown Day School, Olivia was teaching her fifth period class when her cellphone rang causing her to see that it was her husband.

"I have to step outside and take this call." said Olivia as she headed out into the hallway and partially closed the door so she could hear her students, "I thought that your working on a local case." said Olivia quietly.

"I am, but did Will call or text you at all?" asked Spencer.

Olivia sighed as she heard her husband sounding distressed.

"No he didn't, but what's wrong?" asked Olivia.

Spencer quickly explained the phone call he had while explaining that he will be taking a few days off. When he was finished, Olivia spoke up.

"We'll get through this together, Spencer." said Olivia as she raised her eyebrows at a student who was walking by who instantly showed her his hall pass.

"I know, but we both know that mom's condition has been deteriorating since dad was killed." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "We might need to start preparing the kids about the possibility that they're only surviving biological grandparent will be gone soon." said Spencer.

Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose before sighing.

"I know, Spencer." said Olivia before seeing a paper airplane hit her the door she was standing by while a few other paper airplanes were flying in the room before hearing three students curse at the same time, "I have to go since my loud class decided to have a paper airplane throwing contest while hearing three students swear at the same time." said Olivia.

"Are these students worse than our kids?" asked a slightly amused Spencer.

Olivia laughed.

"Our kids are much better behaved than the class I'm currently teaching right now." said Olivia.

"I'm sorry for bothering you, Livy." said Spencer.

"Please don't be sorry at all because your my husband and I love my mother in law." said Olivia.

"I love you." said Spencer.

"Love you too." said Olivia before hanging up.

A few seconds later Olivia entered her classroom and she glared at her students.

"While I stepped out into the hall to take a call from my husband, I expect you all to behave." said Olivia sternly while she grabbed her swear jar and held it up and shook the jar, "Right now I need the three students who swore while I was in the hallway to put a $1 in the jar." said Olivia.

The three students quickly got up and placed the required money into the jar before sitting down while Olivia pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What's wrong, Dr. Reid?" asked Liesel.

Olivia smiled softly at her best behave student.

"You guys know that my mother in law is dealing with Alzheimer's, dementia, and schizophrenia?" asked Olivia.

Everyone nodded.

"Ever since my father in law died, my mother's in law's condition has been getting worse. So my husband and I are going to need to prepare our children that their only surviving grandparent will be gone soon." said Olivia before focusing on finishing up the class.

* * *

Spencer entered the room with ME Olwyler.

"The report you requested is almost ready. And forensics said you're gonna come pick this up as well." said ME Olwyler.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"I understand you've identified the remains of the female victim." said ME Olwyler.

"We're fairly certain it's Kylie Fleming, but we're waiting on DNA samples from her family. What do we know about the latest two victims?" asked Spencer.

"Same as the first four. White males, age roughly 40 to 50. Both sets of remains around a month old. Anyway, your report should be ready. Let me go check." said ME Olwyler before walking away.

A few seconds later Spencer was looking through his copy of the case file, and a few minutes later his cellphone rang causing him to answer a call from Rossi.

"Hey, Rossi, what's up?" asked Spencer.

"Pull another DNA sample from John Doe number one." said Rossi.

"We tried, but the remains are too degraded." said Spencer.

"Well, you need to try again." said Rossi.

"All right, I'll have the M.E. take a second sample, but why?" asked Spencer.

"Cormac disappeared shortly after leaving Luray and returning to Dillon. The last known sighting of him was 14 months ago." said Rossi.

"14 months? That's about how long ago John Doe number one was killed." said Spencer.

"Exactly. Cormac might have been Todd's first victim." said Rossi before speaking again, "Before we hang up, did you tell Olivia about what happened?" asked Rossi.

"I did, and we're going to be talking later." said Spencer.

"I'll let you get back to talking with the M.E." said Rossi before hanging up.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer approached Emily who looked like she was sleeping.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come in." said Emily.

"You looked like you were sleeping." said Spencer before passing Emily the evidence bag.

"Thank you." said Emily before looking at Spencer, "I heard about your mom. Spencer, I'm so sorry." said Emily.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"Ever since dad's death, I started to accept the fact that my mom will eventually be gone too." said Spencer just as Luke joined them.

"I'm headed to the crime scene, all right? He's all yours, Prentiss. We're thinking now that Todd did Cormac?" asked Luke.

"Timeline works out." said Spencer.

"Brother against brother. That's tough." said Luke.

"Well, according to the Bible, fratricide was the first type of murder ever committed." said Spencer.

Luke looked at Spencer.

"That's interesting. Um, anyhow, he's as clear-headed as he's been. I'd jump on it." said Luke before walking away.

"OK." said Emily as she got up and headed over to Spencer and pulled him into a hug, "Hey. We'll talk later, OK?" asked Emily as she rubbed Spencer's upper back before walking away.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting at his desk looking at the last picture that was taken of him with his parents.

* * *

Over an hour later Garcia approached Spencer who was packing up his messenger bag.

"Hey, giant brain. Shouldn't you be getting home to Olivia and the kids?" asked Garcia.

"I'm heading home in a few minutes." said Spencer.

"Call me if you need anything." said Garcia before walking away while blowing kisses at Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting down looking at the pictures on his desk again just as Rossi came out of his office.

"Your still here." said Rossi.

"I'm just looking at pictures on my desk before I spend the next few days with my mom, Olivia, and the kids." said Spencer as he held up the photo of him, Olivia, his mom, and the kids.

Rossi looked at the picture before looking at Spencer.

"Before you go home to Olivia and the kids, I think that its time for you to think about changing your mind about staying with the BAU." said Rossi.

Spencer opened his mouth to protest when Rossi held up his hand.

"Spencer, you have a finite amount of time left with your mother and your kids are getting older so they'll need their father home more. I know it's a hard thing to say, but I speak from experience. Don't squander the time you have left with your mom by working this job since your going to need to prepare those kids of yours about losing their only surviving grandparent soon." said Rossi.

"I know." sighed Spencer.

"Being with you, seeing you, hearing your voice, that's the best medicine you could give your mother. That you can give each other." said Rossi as he clapped Spencer on the knee before looking at Spencer, "Did you take the train this morning?" asked Rossi.

Spencer nodded.

"So I know that you get home safely, I'm giving you a ride home, kiddo." said Rossi.

A few seconds later Spencer slung his messenger bag around his shoulder and followed Rossi to the elevators.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer entered his and Olivia's bedroom, and Spencer saw Olivia exiting their master bathroom.

"You OK?" asked Olivia as she made her way to her husband.

Spencer shook his head while Olivia hugged him.

"Like I told you earlier, we'll get through this together." said Olivia.

"I just wonder how Piper, Albert, and Ava are going to take it since there are times that they still cry over their grandfather's death." said Spencer as tears started to fall down his face.

"You need to let these emotions out." said Olivia.

Less than 30 seconds later Olivia was hugging her husband while Spencer cried himself to sleep.

* * *

The next morning Spencer looked at Piper and Ava while he worked on French braiding Piper's hair while Piper brushed Ava's hair.

"I'm taking some time off of work for the next few days." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Piper.

"Grandma Diana's not doing well, and I just need to spend time with her." said Spencer as he finished up braiding Piper's hair before tying a ribbon.

"Can I visit grandma too?" asked Piper.

Spencer took Ava's brush from Piper and continued to comb the tangles out of Ava's long hair.

"Not today, sweetie." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Ava.

Spencer started French braiding Ava's hair.

"You two have to go to school and grandma had a bad day yesterday, so I don't feel comfortable with you girls seeing her right now." said Spencer just as Olivia entered the room with a school uniform clad Albert and Daniel.

"Later on this evening we're all going to sit down and talk." said Olivia.

"Am I in trouble?" asked Piper.

"No, but its about grandma." said Olivia.

"OK." said Piper.

Spencer looked at Olivia.

"After we eat breakfast, how about I get Piper, Albert, and Ava to school while you get Daniel to Alex." said Spencer.

"Deal." said Olivia.

* * *

An hour and a half later Spencer entered his mother's hospital room, and he looked at his mom who was reading a book.

"Hi, mom." said Spencer.

Diana looked up from her book and looked at Spencer.

"Who are you?" asked Diana.

Spencer sighed as he sat down near his mom and started explaining who he was before updating his mom on Olivia and the kids despite Diana not even remembering him until his mother became clear.

"Spencer?" asked Diana.

Spencer nodded.

'I've been talking to you for 20 minutes and you didn't recognize me one at all." said Spencer.

Diana looked at her son.

"I don't want you to bring the kids here anymore." said Diana.

Spencer looked at his mom in shock.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"My Alzheimer's is just going to keep on getting worse, and after what happened yesterday, I don't want to scare them anymore." said Diana.

Spencer let out a shaky breath.

"I understand mom." said Spencer as he hugged his mom.

Diana looked at her son as tears started to fall down her face.

"Pretty soon I won't even remember you're my son anymore." choked Diana before looking into her son's eyes, "I won't remember loving you." said Diana shakily.

Spencer allowed a few tears of his own to fall as he took his mother's hands before he stated the quote that his mom told him 30 years ago.

"Love isn't a memory. It's so much more than that." quoted Spencer before looking into his mother's blue eyes, "Remember when I was little and you first started having schizophrenic episodes?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, I used to scare you." said Diana.

"And you used to tell me that sometimes you got confused, but you never," sniffled Spencer before he continued, "You never stopped loving me. Because that type of love is bigger than a disease of the brain." choked Spencer.

Diana nodded as she reached out to wipe one of Spencer's tears.

"You used to say, love is a world of its own that lives in the heart, not in the head." sniffled Spencer.

Diana looked at her son.

"I remember. You were so little, I didn't think you would." said Diana.

"Even if you forget, I never will." choked Spencer.

Diana looked at her son.

"Even though I don't want you to bring my grandchildren to visit me anymore, can I at least see them one last time so I can hug them and kiss them?" asked Diana.

"Yes, and I'll make sure that there's one last picture of you taken with the kids." said Spencer.

* * *

Later on that evening Spencer and Olivia entered Diana's hospital room with the kids, and Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel instantly ran to their grandma.

"Grandma!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"Nana!" cried Daniel.

"Hello, my beautiful grandchildren." said Diana as she hugged her four grandchildren.

A few minutes later Piper looked at her grandma.

"Daddy say I can't see you no more." said Piper as tears streamed down her face.

Diana reached out and wiped her oldest granddaughter's tears before hugging Piper.

"I just don't want to scare you anymore, Piper." said Diana.

"Why?" asked Piper.

Diana looked at her oldest granddaughter while being saddened at the thought that Piper will be turning five in a month.

"When your daddy was your age, my schizophrenic episodes use to really scare him so I don't want to scare you anymore." said Diana.

Piper nodded in acceptance.

"Can I call you?" asked Piper.

"We can still talk on the phone on my good days while your daddy sends me pictures that you draw for me." said Diana before she decided to spend a few moments with Albert, Ava, and Daniel before a nurse came into the room and took one last picture of Diana with her grandchildren.

* * *

 _A/N: Here's a heads up that tissues will be needed soon._


	36. The Anti Terror Squad

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

 _A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 35._

 _I thought that with Hotch and Jack not being in witness protection, I thought that I could have Hotch call Spencer in this chapter._

 _This chapter starts the Saturday after the last chapter, and Albert's already playing soccer._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia sat on a blanket with Piper, Ava, and Daniel as they cheered for Albert who was currently kicking a soccer ball to the opposing team's goal net.

"You can do this, Albert!" cheered Spencer.

A minute later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, and Ava all cheered with excitement while Daniel clapped when Albert scored a goal.

"Great job, buddy!" cheered Spencer.

"That's my boy!" cheered Olivia.

"Go, Albert!" cheered Piper as she held up a sign that she made for her brother.

"Too loud." whined Ava as she pressed her hands against her ears.

Spencer reached into his messenger bag and grabbed Ava's noise canceling headphones.

"Here you go, birdie." said Spencer as he placed the noise canceling headphones over Ava's ears.

"Thank you, daddy." said Ava.

Olivia looked down at Daniel who was on her lap.

"Are you going to be athletic like Piper and Albert when you get older?" asked Olivia.

Daniel babbled at his mother while saying words that me mastered before watching his big brother play soccer.

* * *

The next evening Spencer and Olivia were sitting on the couch cuddling as they watched their four children play on the living room floor.

"I just can't believe that we're celebrating the twins turning four next week." sighed Olivia sadly.

Spencer wiped the tear that was falling down his wife's face before giving his wife a kiss.

"Me too, and I'm sad about our oldest turning five next month." said Spencer.

Olivia tilted her head up to give her husband a kiss before whispering at her husband.

"After the kids are asleep should we have some mommy and daddy time?" asked Olivia.

Spencer nodded before kissing his wife again.

"Ewww." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava at the same time.

Spencer and Olivia broke out of their kiss and looked at their three oldest children.

"Who taught you to say "ewww" while we're kissing?" asked Olivia.

"Jack and Henry." said Piper.

Spencer and Olivia laughed before they decided to play with their four children on the floor before getting their four kids ready for bed.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was sitting at the round table with Emily, JJ, and Rossi when Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Are you sure that your ready to be back today?" asked Rossi.

"Despite getting spending the remainder of last week with my mom, she told me to go back to work." said Spencer.

"How are Piper, Albert, and Ava dealing with your mother's request?" asked JJ.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"My mom's request has been hard on them, but they are happy that they can still talk to my mom on the phone." said Spencer.

"Now how are you doing?" asked Rossi.

"Part of me is upset that my kids can't visit their grandma anymore since she is the only surviving grandparent that is related by blood, but part of me is relieved because mom has been becoming more violent with other patients and staff members." said Spencer.

"So that means your probably going to be visiting your mother less too?" asked Emily.

"Whenever I go visit my mom, I always make sure to call ahead to make sure she's having a good day." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "There were times that she has gotten violent at me." said Spencer just as he heard Garcia and Luke talking.

A minute later Garcia started briefing.

"The Bergstrom family was killed in their home in Winona, Minnesota, last night. Mother, father, and little boy, all shot execution style." said Garcia as she gave Spencer and JJ both sad looks since they both have two sons.

"Any suspects?" asked JJ.

"There in lies the mystery. The Bergstrom family was as low-risk as they come." said Garcia.

"What about murder-suicide?" asked Spencer.

"That was ruled out. There was no murder weapon found at the scene, and both Bridget and Scott Bergstrom were shot in their bed." said Emily.

"But there was a survivor. A teenage daughter." said Rossi.

Garcia showed a picture of Amanda.

"17 year old Amanda. She was out past her curfew at the time of the murders." said Garcia.

"And she's the one that found the bodies." said JJ.

"It almost seems like a hit man scenario." said Spencer.

"Maybe a mafia retaliation kill? But that doesn't seem likely in Winona, Minnesota." said Luke.

"But it does seem like a revenge killing." said Emily.

"If the unsub expected to wipe out the entire family, he screwed up big time leaving Amanda alive." said Rossi.

"Unless she had something to do with it." said Spencer.

"That's a question mark, but according to the ME's preliminary report, she can't be the shooter, based on alibi and time of deaths." said Garcia.

"On the surface, they were a well liked family, living a low risk lifestyle." said Rossi.

Spencer looked at Garcia as he thought about his two little girls who were currently at school.

"The daughter Amanda, where is she?" asked Spencer.

"Protective custody, in case the unsub sees her as unfinished business." said Garcia.

Rossi looked at his teammates.

"We good?" asked Rossi.

"Hm mm." said Luke.

"We fly." said Rossi.

"Much different that wheels up." joked Spencer causing some laughter.

A few minutes later Spencer was at his desk calling Olivia who answered on the third ring.

"Have a case?" answered Olivia.

"Going to Winona, Minnesota." said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "When I get home, I need the kids to sleep with us since there are kids involved with this case." said Spencer.

"They can sleep with us when you get home, and I have to get back to my students. Please stay safe." said Olivia.

"I promise." said Spencer.

"I love you." said Olivia.

"Love you too." said Spencer before hanging up.

* * *

"Bridget and Scott Bergstrom grew up in Winona and have deep ties to the community." said Rossi.

"Scott was a local distributor of farm equipment. Bridget cut hair at a salon in the mall." said JJ.

Emily who was sitting between Spencer and a window spoke up.

"Yet they were murdered by a family annihilator." said Emily.

"Sad but true. The Bergstrom family had their share of dirty laundry. Though who of us does not?" asked Garcia.

"Scott developed a Vicodin habit a few years back after a skiing accident." said Spencer.

"So he could have been in over his head with his dealer." said Emily.

"So Bridget was having an affair?" asked JJ.

"Yeah. I looked at their financials. She's got a secret credit card just in her name, with charges to a motel just outside of town, and nothing else." said Garcia.

"She might have cut things off, causing him to go off the deep end. Can you get us a name?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, I'm already into it. You'll have lover boy's ID asap." said Garcia.

"What about Amanda, the sole survivor? Any motive there?" asked Spencer.

"Deep sigh." said Garcia as she sighed, "I hate that you're asking that. And deep sigh again, I am bound by duty to report the facts. There's a modest insurance policy. 17-year-old Amanda is the beneficiary." said Garcia.

"$100,000." said Emily.

"That would seem like all the money in the world to a teenager." said Luke.

"People have been killed for a lot less. That's an unlikely motive for the daughter, but we can't rule her out." said Rossi.

"Whatever set this unsub off, he made the whole family pay for it." said Spencer.

"OK. JJ, Spencer, Emily, you go directly to the crime scene. Luke, you're with me. We'll set up HQ at the local PD." ordered Rossi.

* * *

Emily looked at one of the windows in the house.

"Unsub entered on the second floor through the cut screen." said Emily.

"He had to be physically fit." said JJ

"He knew the house well enough to know this was the room to enter." said Emily.

"He went straight to the parents' room. He wanted to remove the greatest threat first." said Spencer.

"Based on the bullet trajectory, he was standing here at the foot of the bed when he fired. He wanted to stare at them both before firing." said Emily while she mimicked shooting a gun with her hands.

"And that woke Bridget up. She was attempting to flee when the unsub shot her." said JJ as she mimicked shooting a gun with her hands.

"Did he enjoy watching her terror and panic, or was it inexperience on his part? Bridget's scream is probably what woke Kevin." said Spencer.

"So the unsub heads down the hallway where Kevin is coming out of his bedroom. And he runs into the unsub." said JJ as she exchanged sad glances with Spencer.

A few minutes later the trio were heading downstairs.

"So it seems this unsub knew who lived here and where each person slept implying a personal connection to the victims." said JJ.

"In spite of the home invasion, there's no sign of burglary, so he's mission oriented." said Spencer.

"He's highly organized and sophisticated." said Emily.

"The big question is Amanda. Did he think she was home, or did he deliberately strike when she was out?" asked Spencer.

"We need to talk to her." said JJ.

* * *

The next day Spencer stood with his teammates as they started to give the profile.

"We believe the unsub is a variation of what we know as a family annihilator." started Rossi.

"The garden variety family annihilator is usually a narcissistic male patriarch experiencing psychological stress. This causes him to become homicidal and then suicidal." said Emily.

"His narcissism often manifests as rage directed at a specific family member, prompting him to murder the entire family as an act of punishment and revenge. He then blames the object of his rage for his violent outburst." said Spencer.

"Once the entire family is dead, the patriarch typically commits or attempts to commit suicide." said Luke.

"But this unsub is murdering families that are not his own." said JJ.

"There's a distinct punishment component to the annihilation that's driving this unsub." said Spencer.

"He's more organized than the typical family annihilator, with greater impulse control and a high level of sophistication." said Rossi.

"His sophistication is apparent in the fact that the object of his rage is deliberately spared rather than murdered." said Emily.

"This allows the unsub the satisfaction of inflicting ongoing psychological pain on the object of his rage." said JJ.

"We're looking for a male in his late 20s, early 30s. He's mature and highly intelligent." said Rossi.

"Amanda Bergstrom and Matthew Doherty may be surrogates for individuals who wronged the unsub when he himself was an adolescent." said Luke.

"Amanda and Matt both attend Pillsbury High School, and we have not identified any other connection between them or their families." said Emily.

"Pay close attention to the faculty and administrators of the high school." said Rossi.

"A lot of the parents are wondering if we should shut down the high school." said Sergeant Wilson.

"The school itself has not been a scene of violence. Closing it would not deter this unsub." said Rossi.

"We need you to beef up patrols and warn the public of the ongoing danger." said Luke.

"And we ask you to encourage the entire Pillsbury high school community to report any suspicious individuals they may encounter. OK, that's it." finished Rossi.

* * *

Spencer was sitting on one of the couches going through his copy of the case file when Garcia called them.

"What's up, Garcia?" asked Rossi.

"Do you have any idea how many selfies the average teenager posts on social media on any given day? I'm gonna tell you before you say anything. So many. And like the guys, too." said Garcia.

Spencer slowly got off the couch while feeling a slight twinge in his bad knee.

"Actually, some studies indicate that men take twice as many selfies as women 'cause it's considered to be an acceptable form of male vanity." said Spencer as he thought about the family selfies Olivia insists on having when they're out and about with the kids.

"How many pictures of yourself do you really need?" asked Garcia.

"And they're basically making the same expression..." said Garcia before realizing something, "Oh my God. Am I officially not young?" asked Garcia.

"You, my dear, are the portrait of everlasting youth." said Rossi.

"I'm timeless, right. Good answer." said Garcia before becoming serious, "OK. Back to my point. I have been drilling into the social media footprint of both of our adolescent survivors." said Garcia.

"Any connection between Amanda and Matt?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. Stay with me while I go around here for a second. So, basically, both of their Facebook pages are just an outpouring of love and support from their peers. And it's touching, really, and it's very reassuring for the hope of our species." said Garcia.

"What did you mean, "basically"?" asked Emily.

"In between all the wonderfulness, there's a tiny tributary of nasty comments from some of their peers, saying that Matt and Amanda got what they deserved." said Garcia.

"Well, they're kids. Kids can be cruel and thoughtless." said Rossi.

"Right. But we all know that cruelty is sometimes inspired by previous action, which made me wonder what Matt and Amanda might have done to provoke some of their peers to saying some of these things on their Facebooks. So I looked into their school records, and both Matt and Amanda have complaints against them for "harassing behavior."" said Garcia.

"They're bullies." said Emily.

"Were they disciplined?" asked Rossi.

"No. To paraphrase the Violent Femmes song, nothing went down on their permanent record." said Garcia.

"So the victims were also victimizers." said Spencer.

"If the unsub was bullied himself as a teenager, that could be the original narcissistic wound that's fueling his present day rage. Turning his surrogate victimizers into victims is the point for our unsub." said Emily.

Spencer thought about the bullying he went through and the lasting emotional scars that he has to deal with.

"Bullying leaves lasting scars. Our unsub could be a teacher or staff member at the school who seems himself as an avenger of students who are current victims of bullying. Someone who punishes the bullies when no one else does." said Spencer as he thought back to Owen Savage punishing his bullies himself.

"From the unsub's point of view, the bullies themselves are responsible for the violence he's perpetrating against their families." said Emily.

"We need to dig into the backgrounds of the teachers and staff of Pillsbury High and identify anyone who was bullied as a kid." said Rossi.

"Already got digital shovels already throwing up dirt." said Garcia.

"We also need a list of any other known bullies at the school so that we can warn and protect their families." said Emily.

"Oh, here's something. There is a school counselor there named Eric Bakken. Not only is he the school administrator who's in charge of handling bullying complaints from the students, but when he was 15, he was charged with assault. He was arrested. He claimed he was provoked by a long-time bully, but the charges were dropped." said Garcia.

"Let's get him in here." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer was crouching down at the blood on the floor when Luke came over to him and JJ.

"ME's preliminary time of death confirms that we couldn't have missed him by more than a few minutes." said Luke.

Spencer stood up to his full height while flexing his bad knee a bit.

"There's extreme overkill here. Victim was shot 6 times and then bludgeoned. He's decompensating." said Spencer.

"Or evolving." said Luke.

Spencer headed to Austin's room, and after seeing the room being trashed

"Hey, guys." called out Spencer.

JJ and Luke came into the room.

"Austin's room." said Spencer.

"The other murders, the unsub left the homes undisturbed." said JJ.

Luke noticed a bloodied trophy.

"Well, it certainly looks like this is what he bludgeoned the victim with." said Luke.

"He could have left it in the living room with the body, but instead he brought it back in here and destroyed Austin's other sports trophies." said Spencer.

Yeah, you know, everything about this, the overkill, trashing the room, going after Austin's prizes, it fights against our profile of mission-oriented organization and impulse control." said JJ.

"He's more stressed now." said Luke.

"He knows we're closing in. It's more than that. His behavior reads juvenile." said JJ.

"Our unsub isn't an adult, he's a child." said Spencer before looking at JJ, "When it comes to the raid, I really need to stay at the station." said Spencer.

JJ give Spencer a sad smile.

"Why?" asked Luke.

Spencer looked at Luke.

"I rather tell you about one of my worst days of high school after this case." said Spencer.

* * *

Later on that evening Spencer sat away from the rest of his teammates when his cellphone rang causing him to see that it was Hotch.

"Are you done with TDY?" asked Spencer.

"Almost, and I should be back in time for the twins fourth birthday party next week." said Hotch.

"Albert and Ava will be glad that you can make it, but why are you calling me?" asked Spencer.

"I ended up getting a few phone calls from Emily, JJ, Dave, and Garcia about reaching out to you since the case you worked most likely reminded you of one of your worst day of high school." said Hotch.

"It did, and I stayed at the station during the raid." said Spencer.

"Good, but how are you doing?" asked Hotch.

"I'm doing OK, and I can't wait to go hug and kiss my kids since there were kids killed." said Spencer.

"I have to get back to work, and I'll see you next week, Spencer. Please give the kids a kiss from their uncle Aaron." said Hotch.

"I'll tell the kids that you said hi, and I'll see you next week, Hotch." said Spencer before hanging up.

A minute later Spencer was sitting near JJ, Emily, Rossi, and Luke causing him to look at JJ, Emily, and Rossi.

"Thank you for fielding those messages to Hotch." said Spencer.

"Your welcome, kiddo." said Rossi.

Luke looked at Spencer.

"What happened to you?" asked Luke.

"I went through something similar like Kyle did, but luckily I was able to break myself free." said Spencer as he ended up telling Luke about the goalpost incident, and when he was finished, a wide eyed Luke looked at him.

"Were any of the students punished?" asked Luke.

"Nope, and after graduating I only stayed in contact with three former classmates who did their best to protect me." said Spencer before smiling slightly, "I didn't even show up at a high school reunion until my high school 20 year reunion in 2014, and boy did a lot of former classmates ended up apologizing to me that night since their children ended up becoming victims of bullying." said Spencer before pulling out a book to read.

* * *

JJ looked at Spencer as he logged off his computer.

"I take it that your not going to join us for drinks?" asked JJ.

Spencer shook his head causing his ear length brown curls to bounce.

"I just want to go home and hug and kiss my sleeping kids, and Olivia told me that she has plans for me." said Spencer before looking at JJ and Emily, "I hope you guys aren't upset about me bailing out again." said Spencer.

JJ rested a hand on Spencer's arm.

"Its OK, Spence. I know that Olivia has it harder than Will since she has four kids under the age of five to manage on her own while Will only has two under the age of nine. So I don't blame you for wanting to go home and help out at home." said JJ.

"Go home, Reid." said Emily.

"I'll see you ladies tomorrow." said Spencer.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer was going into Piper's and Ava's bedrooms and gave his sleeping daughters each a kiss before checking on his sons, and as soon as he entered the master bedroom he saw Olivia holding up massage oil.

"With the case you just worked on, I want to give you a massage." said Olivia.

"I was thinking about giving you one." said Spencer.

"How about we give each other a massage." suggested Olivia.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was giving his wife a massage before Olivia gave him one, and after Spencer's massage the young married couple were fast asleep together in their bed.


	37. Albert & Ava Turn 4 and Ellilot's Pond

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison, tannerose5, and southernbeauty13 for reviewing chapter 36.

 _Hotch is back in this chapter, and I hope you readers love the AU twist I made when it comes to Hotch's future._

* * *

Spencer and Olivia entered Albert's bedroom with Daniel on Olivia's hip, and Spencer gently shook his oldest son awake.

"Albert, its time to wake up, buddy." said Spencer.

Albert woke up, and a few seconds later he had his glasses on while allowing his mommy and daddy to give him each a kiss.

"Happy birthday, buckaroo." said Spencer.

"I am now four now?" asked Albert.

"Yes you are." said Spencer.

"Let's get you dressed for school while daddy wakes up your sisters." said Olivia.

"OK." said Albert.

A minute later Spencer was turning on the light in his daughter's bedrooms.

"Its time to wake up for school." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Piper was putting on her glasses while Spencer looked at his youngest daughter.

"Happy birthday, Ava." said Spencer.

"I four now?" asked Ava.

"Yes you are, birdie." said Spencer.

Piper gave her little sister a hug.

"Happy birthday, Ava." said Piper.

"Thank you." said Ava.

A few minutes later Spencer was focusing on getting his daughter's ready for school, and 15 minutes later Spencer entered the kitchen with Piper and Ava where Piper ran to her little brother.

"Happy birthday, Albert." said Piper as she hugged Albert.

"Thank you." said Albert before turning to his twin sister and hugged Ava, "Happy birthday, Ava." said Albert.

"Happy birthday, Albert." said Ava.

A few minutes later the family of six were sitting down for breakfast that consisted of chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon.

"When is our party?" asked Albert.

"On Saturday, buddy." said Spencer.

"And your friends from school will be at the party." said Olivia.

"Yay!" cheered Albert and Ava.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer entered the bull pen with Luke, JJ, and Tara.

"I'm dead serious." said Luke.

"There's no way." said JJ.

"The probability of that happening to you more than once is astounding." said Spencer.

"I know. I know. But I was there, OK, and I'm telling you, it was crazy." said Luke just as Garcia approached them.

"Thank God you guys are here. What do you know?" asked Garcia.

"Nothing than Hotch telling us he'll see us this morning." said JJ.

"OK. Rossi got here crazy early, and then right when Prentiss came in he pulled her in there." whispered Garcia.

Rossi and Emily came out.

"We need to talk." said Rossi.

A minute later Spencer was smiling when he saw Hotch in the conference room.

"Your back." said Garcia.

After Hotch either hugged or shook hands with his teammates, he looked at his teammates.

"I'm leaving the BAU." said Hotch.

"Why?" asked Garcia.

"Since Jack's getting older and Jessica can't take care of Jack anymore, I've accepted a promotion to become unit chief for White Collar Crimes Division in this building, and I start this morning." said Hotch.

"Your really leaving?" asked Garcia.

"I am, but I'll still consult with you guys." said Hotch.

"Its OK, Hotch." said Spencer causing JJ, Tara, and Luke to nod in agreement.

"What about your replacement?" asked Garcia.

"Not me because I'm allergic to paperwork." smirked Rossi.

Everyone chuckled.

"Then who?" asked Garcia.

Hotch looked at Spencer.

"Since you have a total of 13 and a half years of experience as a profiler, the Director was hoping that you would be my replacement." said Hotch.

JJ, Emily, Tara, Luke, and Rossi all smiled at the thought about Spencer being unit chief before Spencer took a deep breath.

"As much as I would love to be unit chief for this unit, but I can't." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Garcia.

"With my mom getting worse and the kids getting older, I know that my days working working for this unit are going to be over soon." said Spencer before JJ and Garcia gave him hugs.

"And I told him that you wouldn't accept the offer to be unit chief here, but I told him that I would only accept the transfer to White Collar Crimes if your my co-unit chief." said Hotch.

Before Spencer could respond, Hotch spoke up again.

"You get a lot of job offers from White Collar Crimes, and the Director accepted my request because the FBI doesn't want to lose an agent like you." said Hotch.

"How would we handle sharing unit chief duties?" asked Spencer.

"Other than having the same work load, we would be taking turns attending meetings, and eventually this team will be your own to lead." said Hotch.

Spencer's eyes went wide at the thought about eventually leading his own team.

"As much as this job offer is tempting, I want to talk to Olivia before I make my final decision." said Spencer.

"Even if you still want to stay here for a bit longer, I don't mind waiting for you to join me until your ready." said Hotch.

"OK." said Spencer.

"So if Reid's not going to be our new chief, who's your replacement?" asked Garcia.

Hotch smiled at Emily.

"I requested that Emily becomes the BAU's new bureau chief." said Hotch.

"Thank the universe for silver linings." said Garcia.

Emily sighed.

"OK, I just heard about all of this myself a few minutes ago." said Emily.

"Congratulations, Emily." said Luke.

"This'll be good, right?" asked Spencer as he thought about Emily getting to be closer to Daniel.

"You kidding me? This'll be great." smiled JJ.

"I am really happy for you." said Tara.

"Thank you, guys, but I haven't exactly signed on yet." said Emily.

Hotch looked at Emily.

"Everyone knows you have a lot to consider, but the brass needs an answer by tomorrow." said Hotch.

"Understood." said Emily.

"I need to go finish packing up my office, so we'll talk later" said Hotch before leaving the room.

Garcia's cellphone beeped.

"I hate to interrupt with bad news, but we've got 3 missing kids in Delaware." said Garcia.

A minute later Spencer was sending Olivia a text message.

HEADING TO DELAWARE DUE TO THREE MISSING KIDS, AND WHEN I GET HOME I NEED TO TALK TO YOU. I LOVE YOU AND I PROMISE TO STAY SAFE. ~ SR

* * *

JJ looked at Spencer as she poured Spencer a cup of coffee.

"That was a lot to process before my first cup." said JJ.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

"With us both being parents, we know that he's making the right choice." said JJ.

"I don't blame him." said Spencer.

"So your really thinking about taking that job offer?" asked JJ.

"Half of me wants to take Hotch's offer and the other half of me wants to stay with you guys." said Spencer.

"Like you said earlier, before you make any final decisions, talk to Olivia first." said JJ.

"I'm planning on talking to her." said Spencer.

"And I'll support your decision." said JJ.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

A minute later Spencer and JJ were sitting down with Emily, Rossi, Luke, and Tara when Rossi looked at Emily.

"Are you ready to take this for a test drive?" asked Rossi.

"Sure. It's a quick flight. We should get started." said Emily.

"OK, my brain's a little lunky from that intel earlier today. Is that just me? No? Good. Not good, but you know. Anyway, if you all follow along on your, uh, what-you-call-it, your tablets. Uh, 3 missing teenage Clayton, Delaware, boys are Bones Jarvis, Josh Harmon, and PK. Riggins." said Garcia.

"Did you say "Bones"?" asked Luke.

"Yeah. Coolest name ever, huh? Technically it's William, but the Police chief says everyone calls him Bones." said Garcia.

"When were they last seen?" asked Tara.

"Around 9 PM." said Garcia.

"That was over 12 hours ago. That gives the unsub a massive head start." said Luke.

"Yeah. And we've got like a barrel of nothing. The boys took off on their bikes, but they left their cell phones at home, so there's no way to track them." said Garcia.

"Any prior history with these kids?" asked Tara.

"No, nothing. They've never even been gone overnight. And apparently they spend every weekend together either making or watching movies." said Garcia.

"There's a bit of a haunted history in Clayton. Years ago a mental institution burned down and inmates escaped. Legend has it those that were never found moved into abandoned houses. Garcia, you should locate some of those properties. Maybe the boys were looking for inspiration." said Spencer.

"Also check into any history of criminal activity focusing on crimes against children." said Emily.

"OK. But for the record, I prefer getting spooked doing research on ghost stories." said Garcia.

"We all know the stats. If we don't find these kids within the next 24 hours, we could be looking at body recovery. We can't let that happen." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer followed his teammates and Chief Cooper into the police station.

"Thanks for coming. And, please, call me Coop. Everybody here does." said Chief Cooper.

"Tell us about your town, Coop." said Rossi.

"Mm, good people, hard-working. I gotta tell you, it's a quiet place." said Chief Cooper.

"It looks like we're just a few miles from the old Oxen Hill Mental Asylum." said Spencer.

"Well, you know, that place burned down in 1956. Ghosts are long gone. There's a Wal-mart there now." said Chief Cooper.

"Let me ask you this. Do you think it's possible the boys were following the legend of what happened to all the inmates?" asked Spencer.

"It could be. The parents told me that the boys were into scary movies. My officers are taking statements right now." said Chief Cooper.

"Have your officers ever dealt with a missing children's investigation before?" asked Tara.

"I'm the only one that's been here long enough. The last time anything like this happened was back in 1983. That's when the Henson twins went missing." said Chief Cooper.

JJ, Luke, Rossi, Emily, and Tara all gave Spencer worried looks.

"How'd that turn out?" asked Luke.

"We found some clothes. There were traces of blood. Um, we never found the bodies." said Chief Cooper.

Spencer instantly thought about Albert and Ava and the brief birthday celebration they had for Albert and Ava during breakfast.

"How old were they when they disappeared?" asked Spencer.

"13." said Chief Cooper.

"Is it possible this is the same offender 33 years later?" asked Tara.

"I thought the same thing. But all the suspects I had back in '83 are dead." said Chief Cooper.

"Yes, but two children were abducted back then, 3 now, in the same town? It's too similar to dismiss." said Emily.

"The question is, if it is the same offender, would he be strong enough to kidnap 3 young boys?" asked JJ.

"Maybe he has help. Or he could have been a young offender when he struck before and he's just not as old as we think." said Luke.

"Where were the Henson twins last seen?" asked Spencer.

"Off Route 7. I'll take you there, but somebody's gotta stay here with the parents. They haven't left since I called you." said Chief Cooper.

"Lewis and I will talk to them." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer was getting into a vehicle with Emily and Chief Cooper.

"You OK, Reid?" asked Emily.

"Yeah." said Spencer.

"You have kids." said Chief Cooper.

"Two boys and two girls." said Spencer.

"That's a lot of kids." said Chief Cooper.

"My oldest son and youngest daughter are fraternal twins, and they just turned four today." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer and Emily stood in a corn field with Chief Cooper.

"Well, the story is that the twins were racing their big brother home. And they split up and the twins just vanished. And, uh, we searched this whole area until winter. You know, a blizzard's the only thing that could stop the diehards from looking. This town can't afford another heartbreak." said Chief Cooper just as a man rode up on his bike.

"What's goin' on?" asked Deeley.

"There are 3 missing kids." said Emily.

"We don't want any trouble." said Chief Cooper.

"Looks like you got it anyhow." said Deeley.

"You need a ride home?" asked Chief Cooper.

"No, sir, I do not need a ride home. I've been getting plenty of exercise since you took away my license." said Deeley before looking at Spencer and Emily, "What are you guys, are you FBI or something?" asked Deeley.

"Yeah." said Emily.

Deeley looked at the police chief.

"Coop, why didn't you bring them in before? Oh, that's right. Because you were too cocky back then. Now you're just lazy." said Deeley with sarcasm sinking in his voice.

"Go home, Deeley." said Chief Cooper.

"Deeley Henson?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Deeley.

"You were with your siblings that night." said Spencer.

"Sure was." said Deeley.

"Could we possibly ask you a few questions?" asked Spencer.

"Nope. I'm done talkin'. Johnny and Allie are gone. Nothing's gonna change that." said Deeley as he turned himself around on his bike.

"If this case has anything to do with your brother and sister, you could really help us." said Spencer.

"Sorry, I just got nothin' left." said Deeley before riding away on his bike.

"That's the downside of living in a small town. You know, rumors flew, people accused Deeley of killing them. He became an outcast, dropped out of school, started drinking to cover up the guilt. Surprised he's still standing." said Chief Cooper.

* * *

Spencer watched the security camera footage of the three missing boys with his teammates.

"This was the boys last night. Security camera across from the cornfield picked it up." said JJ.

"If they were moving in that direction, it probably means they were tracking the Henson twins' disappearance. It's kind of a local legend." said Chief Cooper.

"Anyone else see them?" asked Tara.

"It's hard to say, but about two minutes later this pickup truck drove by." said Luke as as a pick up truck appeared.

Chief Cooper recognized the truck.

"That's Jimmy Ridley." said Chief Cooper.

"He's in a film the kids were making." said Rossi.

"What's his story?" asked Emily.

"A hermit, mostly. Has a few run-ins now and then." said Chief Cooper.

"We need to find out what he was doing on that road last night." said JJ.

* * *

Luke pounded on the door.

"FBI! Open up!" shouted Luke.

When there was no answer, Luke opened up the unlocked door.

"Small town." said Luke.

Spencer started going through the house before he heard Emily.

"Guys." called out Emily.

A minute later Spencer was looking at a tree that contained pictures before hearing some glass break causing everyone to head to the kitchen where Spencer and JJ knelt down in front of the kitchen sink with their guns out. Spencer and JJ exchanged glances before opening up the cabinet doors to find a whimpering Jim Ridley.

* * *

Spencer was going through a drawer while JJ and Emily were looking at the pictures.

"He's been stalking these kids. It shows a lot of patience." said Emily.

"And intent to do harm. He has a lot of weapons at his disposal." said Spencer.

"Add extreme isolation to that and we've got ourselves a time bomb." said JJ.

"Looks like he was raised in this house." said Emily.

"Yeah. By a hoarder." said JJ.

Emily grabbed a picture.

"There are old photos of the Henson twins, too. He could be involved in the first abduction." said Emily.

"He would have been 15 when the Henson twins disappeared, the same exact age as their brother Deeley. I wonder if the two of them were friends back then." said Spencer.

"You think that brother's ever gonna talk to us?" asked Emily.

"I don't know. Look at this." said Spencer as he held ups Bones's helmet.

* * *

"His house is a puzzle, but other than the bicycle helmet, we couldn't find any sign of the kids." said Emily.

"I think this guy's too simple to be who we're looking for." said Luke.

"We should take a closer look at the Henson case. Who called it in back then?" asked JJ.

"Their mom did, but she died a few years ago. Their older brother Deeley was with them that night." said Spencer as he held up a picture of the Henson siblings.

"Yeah, we met him on the roadside. According to Coop, he lives across town and he went out of his way to find us on Route 7." said Emily.

"Sounds like he's trying to insert himself into our investigation." said Rossi.

"Except when we asked him to talk, he refused." said Spencer.

"Maybe it's time to give it another try." said Emily.

Luke looked at Spencer.

"You want to take a ride?" asked Luke.

"Sure." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was in the front passenger seat of an SUV, and Luke looked at Spencer.

"Are you thinking about accepting Hotch's job offer?" asked Luke.

"I'm going to be talking to Olivia in a child free setting before I make my decision." said Spencer.

"Even though I don't know well like Prentiss, Rossi, JJ, and Garcia all do, I'll support your decision." said Luke.

"Thanks." said Spencer.

"I can't wait to see Albert's and Ava's faces when they open up their birthday presents from me on Saturday." said Luke.

"My kids are sure spoiled." laughed Spencer.

* * *

Spencer and Luke headed towards Deeley.

"Mr. Henson? Hi, we met earlier. My name is Dr. Spencer Reid. This is SSA Luke Alvez." said Spencer.

Deeley headed towards Spencer and Luke with a can of beer in his hands.

"Ah, pleasure to meet you, amigos." laughed Deeley before sitting down and kicking a container full of empty cans.

"How much have you had to drink today?" asked Luke.

"A free man in my own house. Why does that matter?" asked Deeley.

"I'm just thinking now is not a great time to talk. I mean, you might not be yourself." said Luke.

Deeley set down his can and stood up, and a few seconds later he was holding his hands out to Spencer and Luke to show that they're not shaking.

"What do you want to know?" asked Deeley.

"Tell us about 1983." said Luke.

Deeley scoffed.

"What the hell does that matter now?" asked Deeley.

"It might help us figure out who took those kids last night." said Luke.

"It wasn't me. The factory's got cameras. I work graveyard." said Deeley.

"We're not saying you did it." said Luke.

"Well... You'd be the first. I mean, everyone in this place thought I killed Johnny and Allie. Killed them. Just 'cause I got in trouble sometimes. And then, uh... My folks, they blamed me for losing them that night. Never said I hurt 'em. But it was my fault that they were gone. You know what that does to a kid? It does this." said Deeley before sitting down.

"When you rode by us earlier, we thought maybe you wanted to help. Let me ask you this... what way did Allie and Johnny go that night?" asked Spencer.

"They cut through the corn and past the Ridley farm. But I found them that night and Elliott's pond. And I told Coop that back then. They dragged it. They never found them. Then it froze over that winter." said Deeley.

Spencer looked at Deeley.

"Thank you." said Spencer before turning away.

"Appreciate your help." said Luke.

* * *

A short while later Spencer and Luke got out of an SUV while Spencer thought about how he and Luke talked about anything when they're paired together.

"That was the quietest car ride we've ever had." said Spencer.

Luke inwardly agreed as he thought about how they gotten along since he's only three years older than Spencer.

"I can't stop thinking about that guy, you know? I don't know what I would have done if I was him. All that guilt. How do you deal with that?" asked Luke.

"He obviously never did." said Spencer before looking around the pond, "It's going to be dark soon. There's a lot of area to cover. We might want to call in a search party." said Spencer.

"Yeah, that's before anybody knew we had to search the pond again." said Luke before he saw an orange backpack causing him to run towards that backpack, "Hey. Look at this. This can't be good." said Luke.

* * *

Later on that night Spencer and Luke were holding a map together as they briefed their search party.

"So if you guys want to go over to the sort of white lake area." said Spencer as he pointed at a map.

"Can I help you?" asked Deeley.

"I don't know. Uh, are you in any condition to do that?" asked Luke.

"I switched to coffee. At this rate, I won't sleep for days." said Deeley.

"OK. We found one of the boys' bags in a hunting trap, no other signs of them yet." said Luke.

"Old man Clements used to have hunting traps out here." said Deeley.

"Who's he?" asked Spencer.

"Geezer who got himself off the grid long time ago. Survivalist type." said Deeley just as they heard a trap snap and a man scream causing all three men to run towards the screaming.

"Aah. Help me. Help me. Ohh!" shouted the man.

Deeley worked on getting the trap off the man.

"Son of a bitch! Aah!" shouted the man as his leg got free.

"This is fresh bait. Someone set this recently." said Deeley.

Luke picked up a dart.

"Yeah, look. Somebody tried to fire some tranquilizer darts and missed." said Luke.

A few minutes later Spencer, Luke, JJ, and Emily were briefing Rossi and Tara on the phone.

"This Clements guy used to hunt out here and someone still using his traps." said Luke.

"I'll patch in Garcia." said Rossi.

"I was feeling forgotten." said Garcia.

"Never. What do you have on a local man named Reginald Clements?" asked Tara.

"Uh, Reginald Clements. Uh... He's lived there all his life. He, uh, appears to be, I think the words for it are "off his rocker." Lot of bats in the belfry. B-a-n-a-n-a-s. I am going to send you what I find as I find it so you can follow along at home. He's from one of the founding families, but this Reginald has quite the past. He did time at that mental hospital that burned down, but he was there before the fire." said Garcia.

"For what?" asked JJ.

"Assault with a deadly weapon. But it was the bodily harm he did to himself that put him away. He claimed he needed protection from aliens. His delusions ranged from the world ending to major conspiracies, caused him to live entirely off the grid. And, you know, I'm all for solar panels and making your own kombucha, but this guy took it to the extreme. And when he was 18, he got in trouble for abduction of a minor. And get this. His defense was loneliness." said Garcia.

"When was he released?" asked Spencer.

"Winter of 1982." said Garcia.

"So if it was him, he was out for a year before the Hensons disappeared. It could have been for a dual purpose... Survival and companionship." said Emily.

"Is Clements dead, Garcia?" asked Rossi.

"I don't have a death certificate, but if he's alive, he'd be 82." said Garcia.

"Could he have been strong enough to hold the boys and set hunting traps?" asked Luke.

"Doubtful. What are you thinking, Luke?" asked Rossi.

"I'm thinking the next logical step... He didn't kill the Hensons. He's had them this whole time." said Luke.

"How would he maintain control, especially once they were strong enough to escape?" asked Tara.

"He's already got them isolated, and their home life wasn't great. He believes that the world is coming to an end. He could have convinced them of his own delusions." said Luke.

"So one paranoid survivalist bred two more." said JJ.

"And if the Henson twins have taken our 3 boys, who knows what they're gonna do with them." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer was heading towards Clement's house with JJ, Emily, and Luke.

"Someone with Clements' delusions would have gone all in. He could have built a bomb shelter to hide the Hensons." said Emily.

"And that's where the boys would be now." said JJ.

"Well, we found those tranquilizer darts. They could have been dosed and dragged back to the house. They couldn't be too far from where P.K.'s bag was." said Luke.

"The boys were looking for adventure. My gut tells me they'll keep the unsubs talking so they can work on a plan to escape." said Spencer.

"That isn't what worries me. We don't know if the Hensons would want to hurt them, but if they've been isolated and tortured this whole time, who knows what they'll do." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer and Luke sighed with relief when they saw P.K. and Bill in the basement.

"Hey. You guys ok? You guys ok?" asked Luke.

"Yeah." said one of the boys.

"Let's go. Let's get you out of here. Let's go. Come on. Watch it." said Luke.

* * *

Spencer smiled with his teammates as they watched the three boys hug their parents, and Spencer burst out laughing when P.K.'s mother handed her sons snacks.

"Seeing those boys hug their parents makes me want to go hug and kiss my kids." said Spencer.

"Then let's get home." said Emily.

* * *

As they were flying back to Quantico, Spencer and JJ approached Emily.

"You, OK?" asked JJ.

Emily looked at the two young parents of the group.

"Yeah, I'm just glad we found those kids." said Emily.

JJ sat down across from Emily.

"Oh, yeah, me, too. But, uh, I was talking about that other thing." said JJ.

"I haven't had a chance to talk to you guys. What do you think?" asked Emily.

"I think we've been through a lot of changes and we always figure it out, you know? Morgan left, and now Hotch, but if you stay, it'll be OK." said Spencer.

"Well, I talked to Mark." said Emily.

"And?" asked JJ.

"He's gonna be here next week for a visit." said Emily.

"Well, that's a good start. But they need an answer in the morning, right?" asked JJ.

"I know." said Emily.

"Here's the truth." said Spencer as he crouched down a bit, "If you don't take the position, they're gonna bring in some stranger to be the Unit Chief. And I don't know how that'll turn out, but the learning curve could be brutal." said Spencer.

"It'll probably stink for us, but... Look, we're your friends and we'll support you no matter what you decide." said JJ.

"I'm gonna stay." said Emily.

"Oh, thank God!" said JJ.

"Are you serious?" asked Spencer.

Emily laughed.

"Yes. I love being here, and I've really missed you guys and I want to be closer to both of your kids." said Emily.

JJ sighed.

"We have missed you, too." said JJ.

"Honestly, you have no idea how much." said Spencer causing a laughing Emily to slightly hit him.

* * *

A short while later Garcia looked at her teammates.

"We need to talk." said Garcia seriously as she thought about the surprise party she arranged with Hotch.

A few minutes later Spencer, Rossi, JJ, Emily, Luke, and Tara saw Hotch and Garcia pouring glasses of champagne.

"Surprise!" exclaimed Garcia.

"Ha ha! News travels fast." said Emily.

Garcia started passing out glasses with Hotch.

"Oh, good news does. I'm so happy you're here. We all are." said Garcia.

"And I've got some big shoes to fill." said Emily.

"Well, I'm not worried. Besides, you'd never let us all down." said Rossi.

Emily laughed.

"Oh, great. No pressure." said Emily.

"Well, let me just say something to everyone. I, um... I've been in and out of here since 1978, but I know this is where I belong. I've seen a lot of great agents pass through those doors, and a lot of them have moved on. Now, most of this team has been together for over a decade. But I promise you, that doesn't happen often. Now, I've heard the rumblings about how lucky we are, and it's true, but the truth is, it's what happens... When we're not on a case that has defined who we are. We stand beside one another, through good, through bad, because we're family." said Rossi as he held up his glass causing everyone to follow suit, "To Aaron's new job. And to Emily, our friend and new Unit Chief. Welcome home." said Rossi.

"Cheers." chorused everyone as they clinked their glasses together before taking a drink.

* * *

The next evening Spencer let Hotch and Jack into his house.

"Thank you for agreeing to watch the kids while Olivia and I go out for a few hours." said Spencer.

"I missed your kids while I was away, so I don't mind babysitting so you and Olivia can have a child free evening." said Hotch just as Piper, Albert, and Ava ran down the stairs.

"Uncle Aaron!" cried Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Hotch hugged the three older Reid children before Hotch scooped up his nearly five year old goddaughter.

"I missed you, uncle Aaron." said Piper as she hugged her godfather tightly.

"I missed you too, Piper." said Hotch before smiling at Piper, "I'll be seeing you more often since I'm going to be working a desk job now." said Hotch.

Piper looked at her daddy.

"What about you, daddy?" asked Piper.

"I'm going to talk to mommy about that while mommy and I have a date night." said Spencer just as Olivia came down the stairs with Daniel on her hip.

"Who is that?" asked Olivia.

Daniel happily squealed when he saw his godfather, and a minute later Hotch was holding his godson.

"You definitely got bigger while I was away." said Hotch before looking at Spencer and Olivia, "You two should get going so you don't miss your reservations." said Hotch.

Spencer looked at his three older children.

"You three behave while we're away." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer and Olivia were sitting across from each other at one of their favorite Italian restaurants.

"So what did you want to talk about?" asked Olivia.

"Hotch is the new unit chief for the White Collar Crimes Division at Quantico, and he ended up asking me if I wanted to be his co-unit chief since he told the Director that he wanted a co unit chief of his choice." said Spencer.

"Your thinking about taking that position?" asked Olivia.

"If I take that position, I'll be working a 9 to 5 job while not having to travel." said Spencer.

"That's one of the pros." said Olivia.

"I know, and my pay grade would go up to a GS15 instead of a GS14 so I would be making more money." said Spencer as he and Olivia started throwing pros and cons at each other before Spencer made his decision, "I guess I'll stay where I am until the end of the year." said Spencer.

"But if you decide to leave the BAU sooner, I'll support your decision." said Olivia just as their food arrived.

* * *

A few days later Albert and Ava were blowing out their birthday candles together while everyone cheered.

* * *

 _A/N: Mirror Image won't be happening since Peter Lewis is dead, so the next chapter deals with a lot of family fluff due to Piper turning five and a few time jumps before I get to the chapters that will require tissues._


	38. Piper Turns 5 and Scarecrow

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Shout out to Tannerose5, Hippichic81, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 37.

 _I'm so sorry about the delay for this chapter since I was dealing with intense writer's block for this chapter, but I'm sad to say that I'll be finished with this universe soon while occasionally writing chapters for my missing scene series._

 _This chapter starts 14 days after the last chapter (So there's no two month time jump between Keeper and Scarecrow since I ended up creating my own timeline due to the time jumps that happened in this story), so let's just say that Emily has moved all of her belongings back to DC and Tara tracked down her brother a week ago since Mr. Scratch didn't go after Tara. This chapter will include a lot of family fluff before you_ _get to my_ _version of Scarecrow_ _(Since there's no clinical trial, something else has to happen)_ _. So here's a warning that there will be tissues needed while you readers read this chapter._

* * *

Spencer looked at his now five year old daughter as the family of six ate breakfast.

"So what do you want to do until your birthday party this afternoon?" asked Spencer.

The curly light brown haired and brown eyed girl who had freckles scattered all around her nose and cheeks looked at her daddy.

"Have a date with you, daddy." said Piper.

"Its a date." said Spencer before looking at Albert and Ava, "Are you two going to help mommy get Piper's party ready?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." said Albert.

"Yes, daddy." said Ava.

Spencer looked at Piper.

"Is there anything special you want to do?" asked Spencer.

"Can we please go ride horses?" asked Piper.

"We can definitely do that." smiled Spencer.

Olivia looked at her husband.

"You should also take Piper out for lunch too." said Olivia.

"I will." said Spencer before looking at Piper, "Before we go to Rock Creek Park to ride horses, we'll pick out nicer clothing for our lunch date." said Spencer.

* * *

An hour and a half later the horse caretaker Amelia looked at Piper who was holding her daddy's hand.

"What's your name, sweetie?" asked Amelia.

"Piper Ann Reid." answered Piper.

Amelia smiled at the little girl who was wearing old jeans, broken in riding boots, and a polo shirt just like her daddy.

"Such a pretty name, and how old are you?" asked Amelia.

"Today is my fifth birthday." said Piper as she held up five fingers.

"Well happy birthday, Piper." smiled Amelia before looking at Spencer, "She definitely inherited your height genes from you because at first I thought that her height made her look like she's seven." said Amelia.

Spencer laughed.

"I've been told that there are times that I look younger than 35." said Spencer.

Amelia looked at Piper.

"What do you say about getting to ride a pony next to your daddy?" asked Amelia.

Piper looked up at her daddy.

"Can I daddy?" asked Piper.

"Since you've been riding a pony on your own for over a year, you sure can, goober." said Spencer as he adjusted Piper's helmet.

"When was your first time on a horse?" asked Amelia.

"I took Piper riding for the first time when she was 18 months old." said Spencer.

Amelia looked at Spencer.

"Really?" asked Amelia.

"My uncle owns a horse ranch outside of my hometown Las Vegas, Nevada. So as soon as Piper turned 18 months old, my wife and I introduced Piper to horseback riding whenever we went to Vegas to visit family." said Spencer.

"Impressive." said Amelia.

"Albert and Ava can ride ponies too." said Piper.

Amelia looked at Spencer.

"Siblings?" asked Amelia.

"Piper has three younger siblings. Albert and Ava are four while Piper's youngest sibling is 15 months old." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer was lifting Piper onto a pony before he mounted himself onto a larger horse, and a few minutes later Spencer and Piper were riding on a popular riding trail.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer and Piper entered a nice family restaurant when the hostess looked at the father and daughter duo who were either dressed up in a suit or a pretty dress.

"You two are sure dressed up nicely." smiled the hostess.

"I'm on a date with my daddy since its my birthday." said Piper.

"Happy birthday, and how old are you?" asked the hostess.

"Five." said Piper.

"I have a five year old daughter myself." smiled the hostess before looking at Piper, "I'll make sure that you get a free desert on the house today." said the hostess before she led Spencer and Piper to their table.

* * *

Three hours later later Garcia had her phone out as she recorded Piper sitting in front of her birthday cake before everyone started singing "Happy Birthday". When everyone was finished, Spencer looked at Piper.

"Make a wish and blow out your candles." said Spencer.

Piper closed her eyes and as soon as she opened them, she blew out all five candles before everyone clapped and cheered before Spencer removed the candles.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer wrapped an arm around his wife as they watched Piper, Albert, and Ava play tag with Piper's classmates from school, friends from Mass, and classmates from gymnastics to burn off all the sugar they consumed from Piper's birthday cake.

"I just can't believe that Piper's five years old today." sighed Spencer.

"Me too." said Olivia.

* * *

Later on that evening Spencer and Olivia finished pitching up their large tent in their backyard and Olivia looked at her husband.

"Should we have breakfast cooked outside tomorrow morning to make it seem like we gone on a camping trip?" asked Olivia.

Spencer nodded as his ear length brown curls bounced.

"Let's get showers and baths taken care of before we light a bonfire and make some S'mores." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were heading inside to get the kids cleaned up for bed before the family of six gathered around the fire that Spencer built so they could sing songs while making S'mores.

* * *

The next morning Spencer woke up to being given kisses by Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel. And as soon as he had his glasses on, he smiled at his four beautiful babies.

"What's with the wake up call?" asked Spencer.

"Happy Father's Day, daddy!" chorused Piper, Albert, Ava as all three older children hugged their daddy.

"Where's mommy?" asked Spencer.

"Mommy's making breakfast right over our fire pit right now." said Piper

Spencer instantly smelled the fire that Olivia was cooking over.

"I should probably go use the bathroom before we all eat breakfast." said Spencer as he started to get out of his sleeping bag.

10 minutes later the Reid family were sitting around their picnic table enjoying breakfast before they all went inside to get ready for Mass.

* * *

Later on that night Spencer who was wearing one of his favorite suits, a white dress shirt, and a purple tie to match his daughters' dresses smiled when Olivia came downstairs with Piper and Ava who were wearing matching party dresses and their hair styled.

"Ready to attend the YMCA's annual father and daughter dance?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." said Piper and Ava.

"I have something for you two girls." said Spencer.

"What is it?" asked Ava.

Spencer grabbed two containers out of a flower shop bag.

"I got you two corsages to wear on your wrists." said Spencer.

"Let me help you girls put them on before I take your pictures." said Olivia.

A minute later Olivia was taking a picture of her husband standing between their daughters while holding their hands.

"Now off to the ball you three go, and daddy's car won't turn into a pumpkin." said Olivia.

Piper and Ava giggled at their mommy's joke.

"You two girls ready?" asked Spencer.

Piper and Ava nodded, and a few minutes later Spencer had his daughters in their booster seats before he drove his daughters to the Father/Daughter dance at the YMCA.

* * *

The next day Spencer was sitting at his desk with JJ, Garcia, and Luke surrounding him as he told his teammates how Father's Day went for him before Garcia decided to breech the topic of the new team member that Emily's trying to get for them.

"Does anyone know when agent fill-in-the-blank is gonna start? Because I cannot begin my detailed, rumor based background check without a name." said Garcia.

"You couldn't find anything out with all your super powers?" asked Luke.

"Oh, ha ha, newbie. It's not like I haven't tried. I checked with all the mes in other units to see if any of their agents are transferring over. Nobody knows diddley squat." said Garcia.

"Well, I feel like Emily's been pouring over these resumes forever. I mean, the brass has to approve a new agent soon, right?" asked JJ.

"All I know is, whoever he or she is, they'd better be nice. That is the most important thing to me." said Garcia.

"To all of us." added Spencer.

Luke smiled at Spencer and JJ and thought about how they're both being nice to him while their kids are insisting on calling him uncle Luke.

"Amen. So whoever this well-qualified mystery person is, I say once they join, we change our name from The Magnificent 7 to The Awesome 8. Huh? It's perfect." said Garcia.

Spencer raised his eyebrows before he, JJ, and Luke all chuckled.

"Maybe." said Luke.

"Well..." said JJ.

"I don't know because I know that my days in this unit will be done soon." said Spencer.

"I'm declaring a dictatorship. You guys don't get a vote. Especially you, newbie." said Garcia as she pointed at Luke.

A few seconds later Rossi and Emily left Emily's office causing Spencer, JJ, Garcia, and Luke to look at Emily and Rossi.

"Sorry, guys, no news, but we have a case." said Emily.

"What?" asked Garcia just as her phone chimed causing her to look, "Oh, yeah, we do. This isn't good." said Garcia.

A minute later everyone was sitting down and Tara spoke up.

"Any news on the new agent?" asked Tara as she thought about Emily telling her that she decided to ask to add another member to the team just in case Spencer wanted to join Hotch a bit sooner than he planned.

"Radio silence." said JJ.

"Oh." said Tara.

"Let's get started." said Emily.

"OK, last night in Yakima, Washington, police received multiple 911 phone calls from the same neighborhood. They all reported a woman pounding on the door, screaming for help. She was hysterical. They received 5 calls in less than 5 minutes." said Garcia.

"Let me guess... Not one person opened their door to help her." said Rossi.

"Sad commentary on our times, but understandable. A stranger at your door could be a ruse to get into your home to rob you." said Spencer.

"Or worse." said JJ.

"All of the callers described the woman as being in her mid-20s and scantily clad. One even called her a prostitute. Said that a hooded figure grabbed her off the street, was driving a dark colored car." said Luke.

"So we have an abduction." said Tara.

"It appears so, but that not the only reason they called us." said Emily.

"Right, because when the local police were looking for the missing woman, they uncovered the remains of two female victims on the bank of a nearby creek. One was skeletonized, and the other was in a burlap sack. She'd been dead for three weeks." said Garcia as she showed some pictures.

Tara looked at a picture.

"She also has barbed wire wrapped around her waist." said Tara.

Garcia showed a picture of the identified woman.

"She being Debra McDermott, 27, from Moxee, Washington." said Garcia.

JJ looked at her file.

"Ran away from home at 16, multiple arrests for prostitution. Given the witness statements for the current missing woman, I'd say our unsub's got a type." said JJ.

"Any idea on the skeleton?" asked Luke.

Garcia shook her head.

"No, not yet." said Garcia.

"But her date of death is estimated to be three years ago." said Spencer.

"Three years and now three weeks. What are the odds he remained dormant between victims?" asked Rossi.

"We should look into recent local prison releases that match that time frame." said Emily.

"I'll search that now." said Garcia.

Tara decided that they could start giving Garcia ideas on what to look for while they have to deal with a long flight.

"He could have been sublimating his urges by reliving the kills." said Tara.

"Maybe he found a job or a relationship that satisfied him." said Luke.

"If either went sour, that could have triggered his killing again." said Spencer.

"The only thing we know for certain is we have two dead victims and a missing woman who's still out there. Wheels up in 20." said Emily.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Reid family home Olivia and Alex were getting the kids ready for a trip to the zoo when her cellphone rang causing her to see that it was her husband.

"Its daddy who wants to talk to us through face time." said Olivia as she accepted the call causing her and the kids to gather around the phone, "You have Piper, Albert, Ava, and me while Alex went to change Daniel's diaper." said Olivia.

Spencer smiled as he saw his three oldest children with his wife.

"I'm heading to Yakima, Washington in 20 minutes." said Spencer.

"That's far away." said Piper.

"It is." said Spencer before adding on, "Piper, Albert, and Ava; I want you three to behave for mommy while helping her out around the house." said Spencer.

"Yes, sir." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Spencer burst out laughing, and when he was finished laughing he looked at his kids.

"So what are you guys going to do today?" asked Spencer.

"We are going to the zoo, and I wish that you can come with us." said Piper.

"I wish that I can join you guys too, but I have a dragon to go slay." said Spencer as he heard JJ laugh, "But as soon as I get back we can go to the zoo." said Spencer.

"Yay!" chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

JJ suddenly came into view.

"Would you like uncle Will, Henry, Michael, and I to come along?" asked JJ.

Piper grinned when she saw her godmother.

"Yes." said Piper.

"After this new dragon gets slayed, auntie JJ and I will start talking about when we'll go." said Spencer as he didn't even realize that it would be awhile before that trip happens.

"OK," chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"I have to get going." said Spencer.

"Please stay safe, daddy." said Piper.

"I promise." said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy." said Piper.

"I love you too, Piper." said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy." said Albert.

"I love you too, Albert." said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy." said Ava.

"I love you too, Ava." said Spencer just before grinned when he saw his 15 month old son, "I love you, Daniel." said Spencer.

Daniel happily babbled when he saw his daddy before Spencer looked at Olivia.

"I love you, Olivia." said Spencer.

"Love you too, Spencer." said Olivia.

"I have to go, and I'll try to call before bedtime tonight." said Spencer.

"There's a three hour time difference between Washington state and DC." pointed out Piper.

"Your right." said Spencer before saying goodbye and signed off.

"Let's get going." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Olivia and Alex got the kids loaded up into Olivia's SUV before Olivia started driving everyone to the zoo.

* * *

Spencer leaned against Rossi's seat.

"The unsub's probably using burlap bags to easily transport his victims." said Rossi.

"You know, burlap's an interesting choice. It could also be a forensic countermeasure." said Spencer.

"How so?" asked Luke.

"Despite its strength, the natural fibers in burlap break down with groundwater, exposing the bodies to the elements, so decomposition happens sooner, and IDing the bodies would be harder if not impossible." said Spencer.

"So it's exactly what the unsub would want." said Luke.

"By burying his victims, he's been able to go undetected for years." said JJ just as Garcia's face popped up on a laptop.

"Crime fighters, I've ID'd our abducted woman. Her name is Cheryl "Cherry" Rollins, 25, of Yakima, Washington, and you were right, she's a working girl." said Garcia.

"How'd they ID her?" asked Tara.

"One of her friends reported her missing, and I matched a 911 call that mentioned a very distinctive and eponymous tattoo on her decolletage. That means she has a tattoo of cherries on her..." said Garcia.

"Yeah. We got it." said Rossi.

"Garcia, send us everything you have on Cherry Rollins, and tell the Yakima P.D. that we'll need to talk to her friends." said Emily.

"Copy." said Garcia before signing off.

"Two out of his three victims are known prostitutes, so it speaks to his lack of social skills." said Tara.

"When we land, Tara, head to the dump site, JJ, Alvez, talk to the M.E., and the rest of us will set up at the local P.D." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer, Emily, and Rossi followed Captain Ferreri into the police station.

"Agent Prentiss, I'm Captain Ferreri. Thanks for coming in." said Captain Ferreri.

"Of course. This is Agent Rossi and Dr. Reid." said Emily.

"Well, it turns out that friend of Cherry Rollins doesn't want to come in to talk." said Captain Ferreri as she led Spencer, Emily, and Rossi towards the room she set up for them.

"Probably allergic to police stations. We'll go out and find her." said Rossi.

"Sure thing. In the meantime, we'll set you up in here." said Captain Ferreri as Spencer, Emily, and Rossi entered a conference room.

"We'll need to see your files on all the women reported missing from the area." said Emily.

"Well, "reported" is the key word. A lot of the time their own family members don't report them gone. Most of the missing are runaways, transients, drug addicts. They don't leave much of a paper trail." said Captain Ferreri.

Spencer walked over to a board that contained a map.

"We'll take what you have." said Rossi.

"If he was hiring his victims before killing them, we need to figure out how they were hooking up." said Emily.

"Well, most of the prostitution arrests happen up on North First Street." said Captain Ferreri.

"Nowadays, prostitution is very much an online industry. Who needs a pimp when you have Wi-Fi?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah, but he was probably smart enough to avoid using the Internet smartphone apps that leave a trail." said Emily while Spencer rejoined them.

"Could he be using a burner phone and a stolen credit card to hire call girls?" asked Captain Ferreri.

"It's possible." said Spencer.

Emily called Garcia.

"Garcia, are you there?" asked Emily.

"Yes, on every level of consciousness. How may I serve?" asked Garcia.

"Do Cherry Rollins or Debra McDermott have their own websites advertising their services?" asked Emily.

"Probing into the belly of the beast now. And... Oh, there are a lot of enterprising women, but I don't see anything for Debra or Cherry. I am finding a zero frills listing of local women available for, quote, "no strings attached sex."" said Garcia.

"Are they on it?" asked Rossi.

"Maybe. It's gonna take a second, though, because these women all use nicknames, and most of their photos are only showcasing certain body parts." said Garcia.

"Let us know if you find anything." said Emily.

"Roger that." said Garcia before hanging up.

"Captain, tell us about the creek where the bodies were found." said Spencer.

"Wyler's Creek. It's isolated, had an unexpected flash flood three days ago." said Captain Ferreri.

"That's probably what unearthed the two bodies." said Rossi.

"I'd like to set up a coordinated search grid for the creek and surrounding area." said Emily.

"I'll get my people on it right away." said Captain Ferreri.

"Thank you, captain." said Emily.

Captain Ferreri left the room.

"Are you thinking he dumped Cherry at the creek already?" asked Rossi.

"I hope not." said Emily.

"She's been missing less than 12 hours. We don't know how long he keeps victims before killing them." said Spencer.

"But we do know she was in fight-or-flight mode when he caught her. Hopefully that adrenaline is keeping her alive." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer got out of the front passenger seat of an SUV as he and Emily approached some of Cherry's friends who started to walk away at the sight of their guns.

"Ladies, relax. We're not trying to jam you up." said Emily.

"Lori Johnson?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah?" asked Lori as she pulled on her sweater.

"Hi. We're from the FBI. You reported Cherry Rollins missing?" asked Emily.

Spencer showed Lori his badge causing Lori to note his dinged up wedding band.

"FBI's here about Cherry? She's really in trouble, isn't she? You wouldn't be here if she wasn't." said Lori.

"Well, that's what we're trying to find out. You two were friends?" asked Spencer.

"This is our spot. We hang out together. You get to know a girl that way." said Lori.

"What type of person is she?" asked Emily.

"Thank you. Most people, they don't see us as people. They think what we do is who we are. Like I planned to do this for a living." said Lori before laughing "No way. Me and Cherry, we got plans." said Lori.

"Plans?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah. We're gonna open up a nail salon. It was her idea. She's always coming up with them, like, uh... Like once she said we didn't need pimps no more, that we could look out for each other." said Lori.

"How'd that go over?" asked Emily.

"I got beat good when I told my man. But, uh, Cherry said we gotta be strong. She got some of the other girls to do it, too." said Lori.

"Did she ever talk about a customer who made her afraid?" asked Spencer.

"We're talking about a really bad guy, someone who might be threatening girls with scissors or a knife." said Emily.

"No. I mean, you get your weirdos now and then, but word gets around real quick about a creep like that. But, uh, sometimes you don't know they got a bad attitude until you're alone with them." said Lori.

"You told the police that you didn't get a good look at the last customer who picked up Cherry that night." said Spencer.

"I never seen that car before. I should've paid more attention. It's my fault. Um, she's got a... She's got a little boy, Christopher. He lives with Cherry's grandma. Not many people know about him, but, uh... He's what keeps her going." said Lori as she passed Spencer her phone.

Spencer smiled softly when he saw a picture of Christopher.

"Whatever money she makes, she send to her grandmother to raise that boy. She loves him more than anything. You gotta find her." said Lori.

"We will work our best to find her." said Spencer.

Lori looked at Spencer.

"You have kids of your own?" asked Lori.

"Four kids." said Spencer.

"What are the genders and ages?" asked Lori.

Spencer pulled out his phone to show Lori a picture.

"Two boys and two girls all between the ages of five and 15 months, and my wife sent me this picture earlier since she and my youngest child's nanny decided to take them to the zoo today." said Spencer.

Lori looked at the picture and she smiled at the picture of Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel all standing together while holding hands.

"They're so adorable, and Christopher is also five years old." said Lori.

* * *

Spencer and Tara stood in front of the Yakima police department.

"We are looking for a white male, 30 to 40 years old, who's been targeting female sex workers." started Spencer.

"He appears to be a mission-oriented moral enforcer who may be forcing his victims to wear a cilice made of of burlap and fastened with barbed wire." said Tara.

"What's a cilice?" asked Captain Ferreri.

"Originally it was a garment made of coarse cloth or animal hair, used in some religious traditions to induce pain or discomfort as a sign of repentance and atonement." said Spencer before he and Tara took turns talking for a few minutes before deciding to talk about what the unsub was driving.

"He's driving a dark colored car and cruising the streets for his victims." said Tara.

"But because he has been able to dispose of his victims undetected for years, he's comfortable here. He most likely lives or works in the area." said Spencer before he and Tara finished giving the profile.

* * *

Spencer looked at Cherry's file.

"Cherry Rollins was 12 when she was put into foster care after reports of physical abuse at home. At 15 she dropped out of school and she's been on her own ever since." said Spencer.

"The way Cherry's friend talked about her, it made her sound like she has a lot of street smarts. And the fact that she organized other prostitutes despite the threat of violence from their pimps..." said Emily.

Spencer thought about his own inner strength that helped get him where he is today.

"That sort of life takes strong survival skills... You need the ability to size up any situation, act quickly, think on your feet." said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer and thought about how he is one the strongest men that she has ever known.

"Cherry's probably talked herself out of trouble more than once." said Emily.

"Not to mention she's a mother. It's gonna keep her fighting." said Spencer as he thought about his kids are being the reason why he fought to survive when he got shot in the neck.

Luke came into the room.

"We can rule out the Long Island serial killer as our unsub." said Luke as he took the chair next to Spencer. "Garcia found definite overlap between the East Coast and Yakima victims." said Luke.

"OK. The cilice, the barbed wire, disposal of the bodies in burlap bags near water, that all indicates ritualistic behavior." said Emily.

"There are no markings on the burlap and nothing special about the barbed wire. You can buy both of them just about anywhere." said Luke.

Spencer thought about his uncle's ranch.

"Yeah, they're universally found on farms, ranches, garden centers. The local Public Works Department could be using burlap sacks for help with road flooding." said Spencer.

"You said the cilice has a religious connection, huh? Maybe our unsub's a member of the clergy." said Luke as he looked at his two teammates who told him that they did or currently practice Catholicism.

"Opus Dei. It's connected to the Roman Catholic Church. It's frowned upon, but some members still practice mortification of the flesh." said Emily as she grabbed her phone to call Garcia.

"Currently there are 60 Opus Dei centers in 19 US cities, but none in Washington state. It might be someone just fascinated by or obsessed with medieval torture." said Spencer.

"Garcia?" asked Emily.

"Let me dazzle you with my brilliance." said Garcia.

"We're looking for individuals or groups in the area that may practice corporal mortification." said Emily.

"Corporal what, come again?" asked Garcia.

"Basically it involves causing yourself physical pain in the search for spiritual growth." said Luke.

"Seriously? Has no one heard of meditation?" asked a shocked Garcia before becoming serious, "Go on." said Garcia.

"Check social media sites, religious groups, self-help blogs, anyone who's using burlap, barbed wire, and water or a combination of the three in their quest for penance and self-sacrifice." said Spencer.

Garcia started typing.

"OK. I got a local thing called Tue Believers, sort of a loose-knit faith group that subscribes to fasting, abstinence, and ritual cleansing in order to live a righteous life." said Garcia.

"Do they have a headquarters in Yakima?" asked Luke.

"I wouldn't call it that. More like they meet in someone's living room." said Garcia.

"We need an address and a membership roster." said Emily.

"Coming right up." said Garcia.

"Alvez, Reid, go see if you can talk to this group's leader. Maybe our unsub is one of the faithful." said Emily.

* * *

The next day Spencer was looking at the board that contained crime scene photos when his cellphone rang, and when he saw that it was Dr. Hauser he instantly became alert.

"Is my mom OK?" asked Spencer.

"She's in the ICU right now." said Dr. Hauser.

"What happened?" asked Spencer.

"I'm sorry to say that your mother had a stroke that caused her to end up on life support." said Dr. Hauser as she explained where the stroke was located and how bad the stroke is.

Spencer instantly held back tears as he took a deep breath.

"So I need to make the decision if I want to pull the plug or not?" asked Spencer.

"Exactly." said Dr. Hauser.

"Right now I'm in Yakima, Washington working on a case." said Spencer.

"How long do you think it will be until your done with the case?" asked Dr. Hauser.

"I don't know." said Spencer just as JJ came into the room, "But as soon as I'm done with the case I'm going to talk to Olivia before I make my decision about if I should pull the plug or not." said Spencer just as JJ came into the room.

"I'll keep you updated on your mother's condition." said Dr. Hauser.

"I have to get going, and I'll make sure to answer your calls." said Spencer before hanging up and accepted coffee from JJ.

"Is everything all right?" asked JJ.

"It's my mom." said Spencer.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"I take it that something happened that caused her to go on life support since your mentioned pulling a plug?" asked JJ.

"My mom had a stroke that caused her to fall into a coma, so I have to make the decision about whether I should pull the plug or not." said Spencer.

"Spence, I'm sorry." said JJ as she pulled Spencer into a hug, "Are you thinking about heading back to DC right now?" asked JJ.

"Right now I want to help find Cherry so Christopher doesn't grow up without his mother because he's the same age as Piper, and after this case I'm going to talk to Olivia before sitting down Piper, Albert, and Ava and tell them about their grandma." said Spencer.

"Talking to Olivia and the kids will be the best choice." said JJ before looking at Spencer, "Is there anything I can do?" asked JJ.

"Babysit the kids so I can talk to Olivia without interruptions?" asked Spencer.

"Now that's definitely something I can do because then I get to spend time with my goddaughter and her siblings." said JJ before pulling Spencer into another hug, "I'm sorry." said JJ.

Spencer hugged JJ tightly as he allowed a few tears to fall down, and when JJ released him, Spencer looked at his best friend.

"Just please don't tell the others yet please since I want to tell Emily first." said Spencer.

JJ reached out and wiped the tears that had fallen down Spencer's face.

"I promise, but as soon as this case is over you should be there for your mom." said JJ.

* * *

Spencer stood in a room with Captain Ferreri as an officer brought in the last box.

"That's the last box of customer records from the Baldwin store." said Captain Ferreri before looking at her officer, "Thanks, Terry." said Captain Ferreri.

"Yep." said the officer before leaving the room.

"You sure you don't need any help going through all this material?" asked Captain Ferreri.

"I'm OK since I read 20,000 words per a minute. Thanks, though." said Spencer.

"Suit yourself." said Captain Ferreri before leaving the room.

After going through the receipts for 30 seconds Spencer angrily wiped a tear that was falling as he ended up replaying the conversation he had with Dr. Hauser in his head while he slowed down his reading before pushing himself to focus on the case since there was a five year old boy who needed his mother.

* * *

A short while later a more composed Spencer was briefing his teammates on what he found out.

"Going through the Baldwins records, I found three customers who for years bought supplies on a regular basis. That all abruptly ended around the time of Wendy Baldwin's disappearance. The first is Bertram Foley." said Spencer.

"Garcia, what have you got on him?" asked Emily.

"The Foley ranch raises horses and grass-fed cattle, and Mr. Fo... No, it's not him." said Garcia.

"How do you know?" asked Emily.

"I don't mean to be unkind. I'm sure he could do all kinds of nefarious things, but he's the spry age of 80 and in a wheelchair." said Garcia.

"Let's see, next up we have Fred Haven." said Spencer.

"Fred Haven. 35 years old, was the owner of the Haven orchards and apple farm." said Garcia.

"Was?" asked Rossi.

"Yeah. The bank foreclosed on it one month before Wendy went missing." said Garcia.

"Well, if Haven was having money problems, that could have been the stressor." said JJ.

"OK. He and his wife filed for divorce soon after." said Garcia.

"That could have been the trigger." said Luke.

"Where's Haven now?" asked Emily.

"Uh... Oh... he's serving 7 to 9 years at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac." said Garcia.

"Who does that leave?" asked Emily.

"Last up we have Kevin Decker. Customer records show him at the store every week.

"I got a John Decker. He owns a small farm next to the Baldwin store. Oh... his son, Kevin, is 28 years old." said Garcia.

"The father's name sounds familiar." said Luke.

"What do we know about them, Garcia?" asked Rossi.

"Father and son both live on a farm. Wife Susan Decker died in childbirth. Oh, snap. John Decker is a member of True Believers.

"That's right. He was inactive. Probably because the group was more mainstream Bible study and less fire and brimstone." said Luke.

"He might have felt they weren't righteous enough for him and took matters into his own hands." said Rossi.

"We need an address." said Emily.

"Sending it." said Garcia.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Reid, find Lewis, get back up to the creek in case he shows up there." said Emily.

Spencer quickly went to the room and found Tara a few minutes later.

* * *

Later on that night Spencer fixed himself and Emily each a cup of coffee before heading over to Emily.

"Coffee?" asked Spencer.

"Oh, you are a lifesaver." said Emily before Spencer sat down across from her causing her to noticed the sadness in Spencer's eyes, "What's going on?" asked Emily.

"I need to take some time off." said Spencer.

Emily shuffled some papers.

"OK. When?" asked Emily.

"As soon as we get back. I normally wouldn't do this, especially with the new agent, but it's my mom." said Spencer as he wiped a tear, "She had a stroke and is on life support, so I'll need to make the decision about whether I want to pull the plug or not." said Spencer.

Emily gasped as she looked at Spencer.

"Spence, I'm so sorry." said Emily.

"I'm planning that I go home and get some sleep, and tomorrow I'll be talking to Olivia about what we should do." said Spencer.

"As you should. Listen, we'll be fine. You take as long as you need." said Emily.

"All right. Thank you." said Spencer.

"I have one condition. I need you to check in every day, no matter what. I need to know you're OK, and if you do opt to have the plug pulled, its OK if you have Olivia call me." said Emily.

"It's understood." said Spencer before wiping a tear, "Its just bad enough that I lost my father in November and now I'll most likely be losing my mom for good." said Spencer.

Emily reached over and took ahold of one of Spencer's hands which caused Spencer to put his free hand over Emily's.

"You need to let these emotions in like you told me over five years ago." said Emily.

Spencer allowed the tears to fall freely down his face as they sat in silence while holding hands for the remainder of the flight before Emily told him to get home to Olivia and the kids instead of going straight back to the BAU.

* * *

Spencer quietly entered Piper's and Ava's bedroom and he smiled softly at the sight of his sleeping girls, and after giving them each a kiss checked on his sons before heading into the master bedroom where Olivia was exiting the bathroom to see a distressed look on her husband's face.

"What's wrong, Spencer?" asked Olivia.

"Mom had a stroke and had fallen into a coma, so we need to make the decision about whether we should pull the plug or not." said Spencer as he wiped some tears, "Knowing mom, she would want me to pull the plug so she's no longer suffering from her schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, and dementia." said Spencer.

Olivia pulled her husband into a hug as she thought about her mother in law being on life support.

"Before we make a final decision, you should get some sleep." said Olivia.

"I was thinking the same thing too since visiting hours at the hospital are over, and tomorrow morning we can go to the hospital together." said Spencer.

"Are you going to take a shower before you go to sleep?" asked Olivia.

"I was thinking of a bubble bath, so can you please join me?" asked Spencer.

Olivia nodded, and a few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were preparing their bubble bath together before getting into the tub while they talked about anything except the case he worked on or his mom.

* * *

 _A/N: Spencer will make his decision in the next chapter, and its pretty obvious that you readers will figure out Spencer's decision since I gave a hint about another death in the family coming up. So tissues will definitely be needed as you read the next chapter._


	39. Saying Goodbye to Diana Reid

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison and Hippichic81 for reviewing chapter 38.

 _I hate to admit that I started tearing up while writing this chapter since_ _I hated having to do this to Spencer, but having Spencer lose his mother will be another reason why Spencer will soon be joining Hotch._

 _This chapter takes place the morning after the last chapter._

* * *

Spencer looked at Olivia as they sat on a blanket at Rock Creek Park.

"I sent uncle Gordon a message yesterday and he, Andrew, Joanna, Rachel, and Lucas will be arriving at noon today." said Spencer.

"Good." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "Have you made your decision about wanting to pull the plug or not?" asked Olivia.

"I decided that we'll pull the plug tomorrow since uncle Gordon, Andrew, the kids, and us deserve some time to say goodbye." said Spencer as tears fell down his face.

Olivia reached out and wiped the tears that had fallen.

"Even though this was one of the most difficult decisions for you to make, just remember that your mom won't be suffering from her schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, or dementia anymore." said Olivia.

"I know, but I just wonder how the kids would take it." said Spencer.

"They'll be sad for while like they were after their grandpa died, but eventually they'll get through the death of their grandma." said Olivia.

"We might as well go tell Dr. Hauser and Dr. Miller our decision." said Spencer as he got up before helping his wife get up, "Even though I'm suppose to call Emily this evening, I'm going to let her know what's going on tomorrow." said Spencer.

"You better." said Olivia.

* * *

An hour later Spencer and Olivia were sitting across from Dr. Hauser and Dr. Miller.

"We have made our decision." said Spencer softly before wiping a tear before taking a hold of his wife's hand, "We decided that we'll pull the plug tomorrow since we deserve some extra time to say goodbye to my mom." said Spencer.

"What did Diana's brother say?" asked Dr. Hauser.

"When I sent him a message yesterday, he told me that he'll support my decision." said Spencer.

"Is Gordon coming out here?" asked Dr. Hauser.

"Uncle Gordon, Andrew, and his family are currently flying out here." said Spencer.

"Then we'll pull the plug tomorrow." said Dr. Miller before smiling sadly at Spencer, "Even though your mother's not gone yet, I'm going to tell you sorry for your loss in advance." said Dr. Miller.

"Thank you." said Spencer softly before speaking up, "Do you think its OK to start cleaning out mom's room today?" asked Spencer.

"Not a problem at all." said Dr. Hauser as she smiled sadly at Spencer.

"Why don't you two go visit Diana for a bit." said Dr. Miller.

"OK." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were in Diana's ICU room, and Spencer choked back a sob as he saw his mother hooked up to monitors in a hospital bed while having a breathing tube down her throat.

"Oh, mom." said Spencer as he slowly made his way to his mother's hospital bed and sat down in a nearby chair, "Even though its probably a given that you don't know that I'm talking to you, but I want to let you know that you'll be joining dad tomorrow. So tomorrow the kids will come say goodbye to you before you join dad." said Spencer as he started crying causing Olivia to hug her husband.

After sitting for 20 minutes, Olivia led her husband out of Diana's hospital room and led Spencer to Diana's room where a few nurses were already in the room with boxes and trolleys.

"Do you guys need any help?" asked Nurse Cassie.

"Some help will be great." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer, Olivia, and a few nurses who were on their break started helping Spencer and Olivia pack up Diana's room, and two hours later Spencer and Olivia were leaving the hospital with all of Diana's personal belongings.

* * *

Later on that evening the Reid family, Gordon, Andrew and his family were sitting down in the living room.

"Why are we having a family meeting, daddy?" asked Piper.

Spencer looked at his three older children while his uncle gave him a nod of encouragement since he accepted Spencer's decision.

"You three know that I've been sad today?" asked Spencer.

"Why are you sad, daddy?" asked Albert.

"Tomorrow we'll be going to the hospital to say goodbye to grandma again." said Spencer.

"Why are we saying goodbye?" asked Ava.

Olivia squeezed her husband's hand.

"Grandma Diana has an owie in her brain that caused her to go into a very deep sleep that doctors don't think that she'll wake up from, so I was given the choice about allowing her to fight to stay alive or allow her to join grandpa in Heaven." said Spencer.

"What did you pick?" asked Albert.

"Tomorrow grandma Diana will be joining grandpa William in Heaven." said Spencer as he wiped a tear.

"Why let her go join grandpa?" asked Piper as she started to cry.

Spencer pulled Piper onto his lap so he could start comforting his oldest daughter while Olivia, Gordon, and Andrew worked on comforting Albert, Ava, and Rachel.

"If I allow her to go join grandpa, her schizophrenia, Alzheimer's, and dementia will go away. So its better to allow her to go to Heaven where she'll be happy and healthy instead of sick." said Spencer.

"OK." said Piper.

"So tomorrow we'll be saying goodbye to grandma and then in a couple of days we'll be dressing in black clothing while going to church were a lot of people will come to say goodbye and sorry for our loss like they did for grandpa." said Spencer.

"OK." cried Piper before looking at her daddy, "Can I sleep with you and mommy tonight?" asked Piper.

"Me too?" asked Albert.

"Me three?" asked Ava.

"I was already planning that you guys sleep with us." said Spencer.

* * *

Three hours later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel were fast asleep in Spencer's and Olivia's bed.

* * *

The next day Spencer, Olivia, Andrew, and Gordon all entered Diana's hospital room with Piper, Albert, Ava, Daniel, and Rachel and the four older kids started crying when they saw their grandma or great aunt hooked up to a lot of monitors, and a few minutes later Spencer was holding up his youngest son to his grandma.

"Give grandma a goodbye kiss." said Spencer.

Daniel gave his grandma a sloppy kiss before Joanna offered to take Daniel away with her two children causing Spencer to look at his three oldest.

"Who wants to say goodbye next?" asked Spencer.

"Me, daddy." said Ava.

For the next few minutes Spencer was allowing tears to fall as he listened to his three oldest children tell their grandma that they will always love her and that they would miss her. As soon as the kids were done saying goodbye to their grandma, Andrew took some time to say goodbye to his aunt before looking at his father and cousin.

"Joanna and I will take the kids home." said Andrew.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

For the next few minutes Spencer, Olivia, and Gordon took their turns to say goodbye to their mother, mother in law, or sister before a nurse went to get Dr. Miller.

* * *

A half hour later Dr. Miller looked at Spencer who was holding one of his mother's hands while Gordon held his sister's free hand while Olivia was holding her husband's free hand.

"You guys ready?" asked Dr. Miller.

Spencer, Olivia, and Gordon nodded, and a few seconds later Dr. Miller and a nurse were turning off the machines that were keeping Diana alive.

All the adults in the room watched the monitors that were hooked up to Diana started to go down until Diana flat lined. As soon as Diana was pronounced dead, Spencer started to cry while a crying Olivia hugged him before a crying Gordon also hugged his nephew and his adopted niece. After crying for a few minutes, Olivia took her husband and adoptive uncle home so she could start alerting the list of people that Spencer told her to call while Spencer went straight to bed with the kids.

* * *

An hour later Emily and Hotch entered the conference room with grim faces as they looked at Rossi, JJ, Garcia, Tara, Luke, and Stephan.

"What are you doing here, Hotch?" asked JJ.

"Emily called me down here for a meeting about Reid." said Hotch as he introduced himself to Stephan.

"Is Reid OK?" asked Garcia.

"He won't be awhile because Diana passed away an hour ago with Spencer and Olivia by her side." said Emily.

Garcia instantly burst into tears while JJ hugged her.

"How's Spence doing?" asked JJ as she wiped her own tears.

"He's at home with Olivia and the kids right now, and Olivia said that he's not able to talk since he's sleeping right now with the kids." said Emily.

"At least Spencer got to say goodbye to his mom." said Rossi.

"I know, and Olivia told me that she'll let us know when the funeral is." said Emily.

"Who's Olivia?" asked Stephan.

Emily looked at her old friend.

"Olivia is Spencer's wife, and they had a total of four kids together." said Emily.

"How old are the kids?" asked Stephan.

"Piper's five, Albert and Ava are four, and Daniel's 15 months old." said Emily before sighing sadly, "Diana was the kids only surviving grandparent since Spencer's father was killed in a car accident last November while Olivia's parents died when she was 20." said Emily.

"Are we going to attend the funeral?" asked JJ.

"I already arranged that we're on stand down for the rest of the week, but next week we'll have to work on cases again." said Emily.

"When you guys start working cases next week, I will make sure that the Reids are OK." said Hotch.

"Can we go see Spence?" asked JJ.

"Olivia requested that they have their privacy since she doesn't want to have Spencer feel overcrowded, and depending on how things are tomorrow they'll accept visitors." said Emily.

* * *

The next day Spencer was curled up in the library looking through one of his photo albums when there was a knock on the open door causing a teary eyed Spencer to see Hotch and Jack.

"Hi." said Spencer.

Jack ran over to Spencer and hugged him.

"I'm sorry about your mom, uncle Spencer." said Jack.

Spencer hugged the 11 year old boy back.

"Thank you, Jack." said Spencer.

Hotch looked at Jack.

"Why don't you go downstairs and play with Piper, Albert, Ava, Daniel, and Rachel while I talk to Spencer." said Hotch.

"OK, dad." said Jack before leaving the room.

A minute later Hotch looked at his former teammate.

"How are you doing?" asked Hotch.

"I'm doing OK, but at least my mom's no longer suffering." said Spencer.

* * *

Two days later Spencer looked at Albert as he tied his oldest son's black tie.

"We're going to say goodbye to grandma today." said Spencer as he tightened his son's tie before helping Albert put on his suit jacket.

Albert looked at his daddy who was wearing a black suit, a white dress shirt, and a black tie.

"You OK, daddy?" asked Albert.

"Eventually I will because you, your mommy, your sisters, and baby brother will help me feel happy." said Spencer.

"Are you sad about grandma being in Heaven?" asked Albert.

"I am." said Spencer as he started to help Albert put on his dress shoes.

"Me too." said Albert.

A minute later Olivia who was wearing a black knee length dress, black high heels, and a black pillbox hat that had a black veil came into the room with Piper and Ava who were both wearing black knee length dresses, white tights, black Mary Jane shoes, while both of their hair were let down.

"The limos are here to take us to the church for the wake." said Olivia before looking at her husband, "You ready?" asked Olivia.

"Ready as I'll ever be." said Spencer as he got off Albert's bed and scooped up his youngest son who was dressed just like him and Albert.

Five minutes later the family of six were getting into a limo while uncle Gordon, Andrew, Joanna, Rachel, and baby Lucas got into the second limo.

* * *

15 minutes later the Reid family and the Tucker family entered the church where Father Davison was waiting for them.

"I'm so sorry for your loss again, Dr. Reid." said Father Davison as he shook hands with Spencer.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

Father Davison led the Reids and Tuckers to the front of the church where an open casket that contained Diana's body was waiting.

"Why is grandma not in an urn like grandpa?" asked Piper.

"Grandma asked to be buried." said Spencer.

"OK." said Piper.

Father Davison looked at the two families.

"You guys can have some time alone before guests start arriving for the wake." said Father Davison.

Spencer nodded before Father Davison walked away to give the immediate family some privacy before Spencer knelt on the pillow that was in front of the casket.

"Hi mom, today its the day to finally say goodbye to you." said Spencer as he gave his mother's head a kiss.

"Why give grandma a kiss?" asked Albert.

"Your allowed to give a passed love one one last kiss before the casket will be closed." said Spencer.

"Can I give grandma a kiss?" asked Albert.

"You guys can give grandma one last kiss." said Spencer.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer sat in a chair that was by his mother's coffin with Olivia and the kids surrounding him when Spencer shot a surprised look to Emily when Emily came forward with two people that he had never met.

"Even though I wish that I could introduce you to your new teammate under better circumstances, but Stephan Walker and his wife Monica insisted on giving their condolences to you." said Emily as she introduced Stephan and Monica to the Reid family.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Dr. Reid." said Stephan.

"Thank you, but please call me Spencer." said Spencer softly.

"After you have some time to grieve, Monica and I are hoping that you guys come over for dinner since I want to get to know you a bit before you come back to the team." said Stephan.

"That would be great." said Spencer.

Monica looked at Spencer and Olivia who had their three oldest children standing between them.

"I'm sorry for your loss." said Monica.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

Monica looked at the four Reid children before looking at Spencer and Olivia.

"Cute kids by the way." said Monica.

"Thank you." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Emily walked away with Stephan and Monica so JJ, Will, Henry, and Michael could greet him.

"Hi, Spence." said JJ as she gave Spencer a hug.

"Hi." said Spencer before looking at Will, "Thank you for offering to be a pall bearer." said Spencer.

"Your mama was a nice woman, and a few of my colleagues will be part of the police escort that will take us to the cemetery." said Will.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

Henry hugged his godfather.

"I'm sorry for your loss again." said the eight year old boy.

"Thank you, Henry." said Spencer.

Henry gave Olivia, Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel a hug before JJ and Will led their sons away so Morgan and Savannah could greet them.

"I'm sorry for your loss again, Spencer." said Morgan a hugged his brother.

"Thank you." said Spencer before accepting a hug from Savannah, "Where's Hank?" asked Spencer.

"Sarah's in town so she offered to watch, Hank. She told me to tell you that she, Desiree, and my mom gives you their condolences." said Morgan.

"Thank you." said Spencer before looking at Morgan, "Thank you for offering to be a pall bearer." said Spencer.

"Its one of the few things I can do for my little brother right now." said Morgan before leading Savannah away so Garcia could approach them.

"I'm so sorry again, boy wonder." said Garcia as she hugged Spencer.

"Its OK." said Spencer.

"I'm planning on bringing you a lot of cookies over the next couple of weeks." said Garcia as she gave Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel each a hug.

* * *

Spencer looked at the closed casket that contained his mother's body before looking at his family, friends, his mother's old friends, and doctors and nurses who helped take care of his mother before laying his eyes on his children who were sitting in the front pew with his uncle and cousin.

"You ready?" asked a whispering Olivia.

Spencer nodded as he squeezed his wife's hand before speaking into the microphone.

"I'm Diana's son Spencer, and five days ago I had to make the hardest decision ever to have my mom go join my father. My mom had lived with paranoid schizophrenia for most of her life, and when she became pregnant with me she sacrificed her own health by going off her medication so I could be born healthy. Throughout the years she was a loving mother to me even though that there were times that she didn't remember that I was her son. One of my most favorite sayings that that my mom has told me was "Love isn't a memory, it's so much more than that. Love is bigger than a disease of the brain. Love is a world of its own that lives in the heart, not in the head." said Spencer before wiping a tear that fell before glancing at Olivia,"Please read some of this so I can compose myself." said Spencer.

Olivia nodded as she pecked her husband on the cheek before taking the eulogy that her husband wrote.

"Diana was a loving grandmother to her four grandchildren Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel who will be greatly missed by her grandchildren. On her good days she loved reading to her grandchildren or running around the park or garden with her grandchildren, and on days that her any of her grandchildren were sick she loved cuddling with them." said Olivia as she spoke for a couple of more minutes before looking at her husband, "You should read the rest." said Olivia.

Spencer took a deep breath as he decided to speak the last sentence in the eulogy that he wrote for his mom.

"I'll always be proud to be your son mom, and when its my time, hopefully I'll see you again someday." said Spencer before an old friend of Diana's came up to speak about Diana.

* * *

After eulogies were given Father Davison looked at everyone.

"Now Diana's four year old granddaughter Ava Reid will be singing "Amazing Grace" for us." said Father Davison.

Spencer looked at his youngest daughter.

"Go on." coaxed Spencer.

A minute later Ava was standing by the shortened microphone, and a few seconds later she started singing "Amazing Grace" causing everyone who came to the funeral too start tearing up as they heard the four year old musical genius sing with an angelic singing voice without any music playing, and when she was finished she ran to her daddy.

"How did I do daddy?" asked Ava.

Spencer looked at Ava and thought about how Ava also sang at her grandpa's funeral at only three years old.

"You did a wonderful job, and your grandma would be proud of you like I'm currently am." said Spencer softly as he hugged his youngest daughter.

A few minutes later Hotch, Morgan, Rossi, Will, Andrew, and Luke were gathering for their duties as pall bearers before Spencer and Olivia led their kids to the limo that Rossi rented for them to use.

* * *

As Hotch, Rossi, Morgan, Luke, Will, and Andrew carried Diana's casket to the plot that was reserved for Diana's grave, Spencer who was holding his daughter's hands while Olivia held her son's hands led everyone towards the plot with all of their guests following behind them.

* * *

As soon as Father Davison was done leading everyone in "The Lord is my Shepard" prayer, Spencer and Olivia who were both holding white roses looked at their children who were holding roses.

"As soon as everyone is done putting a rose on grandma's casket, we will get to put our roses on the casket ourselves." said Spencer.

"Ok, daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Five minutes later Spencer, Olivia, and the Reid children were putting their roses onto the closed casket before Hotch and JJ led the kids away so Spencer and Olivia could have a private moment.

"Goodbye mom." said Spencer as he rested a hand on his mother's casket.

Olivia hugged her husband, and after standing by the closed casket for a few minutes, Spencer and Olivia walked away to the limo where Hotch and JJ were waiting with the kids.

"Ready for the luncheon?" asked Hotch.

"I am." said Spencer.

"Rossi mentioned about all of us including our families go over to his mansion for dinner tonight." said JJ.

"That would be nice." said Spencer.

* * *

Later on that evening Spencer, Olivia, Hotch, Emily, Rossi, JJ, Garcia, Morgan, Tara, Luke, and Cruz were gathered in Rossi's backyard for dinner to honor Diana Reid when Cruz looked at Spencer.

"How are you doing?" asked Cruz.

Spencer looked towards the children's table where Jack, Henry, Piper, Albert, and Ava were sitting with Savannah who offered to watch the kids before looking at everyone else.

"I know that it will be awhile before I'm back to my normal self, but I know that I'll eventually be OK since I keep telling myself that mom's no longer suffering." said Spencer.

"That's what I told myself after my mom died from cancer." said Tara just as everyone started to ear Ava singing causing all of the adults to smile a bit as they thought about Ava singing to everyone earlier.

"Ava definitely has a beautiful singing voice." said Cruz.

Spencer and Olivia smiled softly at each other as they thought about how Ava became a musical genius.

"Music lessons are part of Ava's occupational therapy, and there's been talk about Ava being part of the children's choir during Sunday Mass as soon as she's old enough." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "She definitely takes after her mother when it comes to singing." said Spencer.

Luke looked at Spencer.

"Even though I know that you have a reputation about avoiding handshakes and hugs from people you barely know, I'm surprised that you tolerated all of the physical contact today." said Luke.

Spencer slightly chuckled.

"Having kids has helped me get over my germophobia since if one kid gets sick, the rest of them will get sick too." said Spencer.

"Plus Spencer used a lot of hand sanitizer between handshakes." said Olivia.

JJ looked at Spencer.

"How long do you think it will be before you return to work?" asked JJ.

"As much as I would love to be on bereavement leave until Piper, Albert, and Ava start school again, I believe that I'll be ready in three weeks." said Spencer.

Emily looked at Spencer.

"Are you sure that three weeks will be enough?" asked Emily.

"I think so." said Spencer.

"You can take more time off if you want." said Cruz.

Spencer looked at his section chief who insisted on coming to the funeral to pay his respects.

"I know, but it will be important that I get back into my usual routine before the kids think that I became a stay at home dad." said Spencer.

"That's probably be a good idea." said Emily.

"But I know that I should tell you if I need more time." said Spencer.

"You got that right." said Emily.

A few minutes later Rossi looked at everyone as he held up a glass of wine.

"To Diana Reid who was a wonderful mother and grandmother, may you rest in peace." said Rossi.

Everyone held up their glasses of wine or sparking grape juice and clinked them together before taking a sip.

* * *

 _A/N: When my aunt's funeral happened last year in August, I really wasn't a fan of all the hugs and handshakes that I was given by friends of my aunt that I never met, but I knew that I needed to be polite and accept any hugs or handshakes that I was given. Even though I had Spencer cry a bit at his mother's funeral, I didn't even cry or release tears at my aunt's funeral because I know that sometimes people with Asperger's syndrome have trouble with their emotions._


	40. Aloha Reid Family

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds.

A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 for being the 150th reviewer of this story, and also a shout out to OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 39.

 _This chapter starts_ _a week_ _after the funeral so Gordon, Andrew, Joanna, Rachel, and Lucas are back in Las Vegas._

 _I thought that with Spencer being on bereavement leave, it wouldn't hurt for the Reids to spend at least two weeks away from Washington DC without any technology other than Olivia's cellphone and a waterproof video camera._

 _Spencer might be out of character a bit in this chapter, but remember that Olivia broke Spencer out of his shell while Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel help their daddy bring out his inner child. And when it comes to Spencer, Piper, and Albert going swimming with their glasses on, their glasses have straps to help keep their glasses in place so they don't have to worry about getting prescription goggles that they would have to replace every time they get new lenses in their glasses._

 _Even though Piper, Albert, and Ava have learned how to swim, Spencer and Olivia are insistent that their children always wear life vests._

 _I'm not going to write about their entire vacation, but I might write chapters for my missing scene series that deals with the vacation that happens in this chapter._

 _After this chapter there will probably be a minimum of three chapters left before I mark this story complete._

* * *

Spencer knocked on the door of Emily's office causing Emily and Rossi to look at Spencer.

"Your not suppose to be here right now." said Emily.

"I know, but I want to tell you about the appointment I just had with Dr. Andrews." said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "One of the projects I was given to do, I will need to extend my bereavement leave for another week." said Spencer.

"I can give you another week off. So how about you close the door and sit down and tell us why you need an extra week." said Emily.

A few seconds later Spencer was sitting next to Rossi.

"Dr. Andrews recently bought a fully furnished three bedroom and two bath beach front house in Hawaii, and he decided that he wants Olivia, the kids, and I to stay there for two weeks since it will be two months before he retires and moves down there." said Spencer.

"That's nice of your grief counselor." said Emily.

"Its the least he can do since this is practically a last minute trip, but I'm looking forward to going to Hawaii again." said Spencer.

"Have you looked into flights yet?" asked Rossi.

"No." said Spencer.

"I'll pay for a private jet that will transport you and your family to Hawaii and back." said Rossi.

"We have the money for plane tickets." protested Spencer.

"Your kids will get restless causing other passengers to get annoyed, and your bad knee will most likely appreciate you flying on a private jet instead of a commercial flight." said Rossi.

Spencer sighed in defeat before looking at Emily.

"There were two conditions that I was given when it comes to this vacation." said Spencer.

"What are they?" asked Emily.

"No electronic devices other than Olivia's cellphone that will be used for emergency purposes only and a camera are allowed to go to Oahu with us and that we're not allowed to contact you two or the team at all since we wants Olivia, the kids, and I to have fun while focusing on each other while not knowing what's going on back here and in DC." said Spencer.

Emily smiled a bit.

"If your doctor ordered you or Olivia not to contact any of us while on vacation, I'll let you break your promise of you calling me everyday for those two weeks." said Emily.

"Really?" asked Spencer.

"You, Olivia, and the kids deserve some distance away from us while you, Olivia, and the kids help each other grieve." said Emily before smiling a bit, "I expect you to show us a lot of pictures and videos when you get back." said Emily.

"I promise, but I should go home and tell Olivia what's going on." said Spencer.

"You never told her yet about getting to spend two weeks in paradise?" asked Emily.

"I wanted to tell you first because Dr. Andrews knows that its protocol for the FBI to know where I'm going on vacation." said Spencer before smirking at Rossi, "And you never let Olivia and me pay for commercial flights whenever we fly anywhere in the country or the two times I traveled to Europe so I had a feeling that you weren't going to let me spend any money on plane tickets." said Spencer.

Emily burst out laughing at Rossi's shocked expression as she gave Spencer a high five.

"Nice one, Spence." said Emily.

* * *

Two hours later Spencer checked the oven before leaning against the counter as he watched Olivia cooked mixed vegetables.

"Dr. Andrews suggested that we leave the city for a two weeks, so I asked Emily for an extra week off so we can go on an extended vacation far away from DC." said Spencer quietly.

"Did Emily approve the extra time off?" asked Olivia.

"She did since she said that it doesn't hurt to spend part of my bereavement leave going on a family vacation." said Spencer.

"So where would we go with a five year old, four year old twins, and a 16 month old?" asked a whispering Olivia.

Spencer thought about the text message he received from Rossi when he was driving home from Quantico.

"A three bedroom and two bathroom beach house in Oahu for two weeks, and we'll be leaving next week." said Spencer.

Olivia smiled at the idea about returning to Hawaii before becoming serious.

"How were you able to get us a beach house in such short notice?" asked Olivia.

"Dr. Andrews and his wife bought the house two months ago while they were on vacation since they're going to spend their upcoming retirement in Hawaii, so he's willing to loan us the house since its in a rural area with a private beach 50 feet away from the house." said Spencer.

"That's so sweet of Dr. Andrews." said Olivia.

"I know, and he told me that the house is already fully furnished with enough beds and has board games and DVDs that are child friendly since he's hoping that his four grandchildren can spend a couple of weeks with him every summer." said Spencer as he reached into his messenger bag and pulled out the pictures that Dr. Andrews gave him.

Olivia looked through the pictures before looking at her husband.

"Anything else you need to tell me about this vacation?" asked Olivia.

"I was told that we can't bring a sitter along for the kids since we're suppose to be active with the kids when they're awake while focusing on each other while the kids are asleep." said Spencer before taking a deep breath, "And we're only allowed to take one cellphone and a camera when it comes to emergency phone calls, taking pictures, and making videos." said Spencer.

Olivia smiled at the idea of no laptops or tablets.

"Brilliant idea." said Olivia.

Spencer became serious.

"Also we're not allowed to contact any of my teammates or former teammates at all since we're suppose to distance ourselves from our friends and family while we help each other grieve. So that means that we can't post anything on Facebook." said Spencer.

"Did you tell Emily about Dr. Andrews order?" asked Olivia.

"I stopped at the BAU before coming here, and she said that if Dr. Andrews gave me that order, then I must follow it while promising to show all the videos we made and the pictures we've taken when we get back." said Spencer.

"How would we manage flying with four kids?" asked Olivia.

"Rossi said that he'll pay for a private jet for us." said Spencer.

"That is way too much from Rossi." said Olivia.

"I told him the same thing, but he told me that he wasn't taking no for an answer since he told me that he knows about my bad knee complaining after I got back from Paris." said Spencer just as he checked the lasagna in the oven, "Dinner's done." said Spencer.

* * *

10 minutes later Spencer, Olivia, and the kids were sitting down eating dinner when Spencer looked at the kids.

"We're leaving for Hawaii next week and we'll be staying there for two weeks." said Spencer.

Piper's, Albert's, and Ava's eyes went wide as they thought about the pictures they seen from their parents first honeymoon while thinking about one of their favorite movies.

"Can I see a village that "Moana" most likely grew up in?" asked Piper.

Spencer and Olivia slightly chuckled at the mention of Piper's favorite movie.

"We can visit a Polynesian village so we can learn about the culture." said Spencer.

"Can I swim with dolphins?" asked Ava.

"We sure can." said Spencer.

"Can we go to the beach every day?" asked Albert.

"We'll be right by a beach since we're staying in a three bedroom and two bathroom beach front house, and there are a lot of fun adventures that we can go on in Oahu so we won't be going to the beach everyday." said Spencer as he gave examples of places that they can visit.

When Spencer was done explaining about places that they would visit, Piper looked at her 16 month old baby brother.

"Is Daniel coming too?" asked Piper.

"He is since there are fun activities that a 16 month old toddler can do in Hawaii." said Spencer.

For the remainder of dinner time Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava all started talking about what they could do while Daniel was just focusing on his dinner while not caring about getting tomato sauce all over his face.

* * *

A week later two pilots helped Spencer and Olivia carry their sleeping children onto the private jet that Rossi booked for them causing Spencer and Olivia to gasp when they saw a king sized bed that they could move their children to after take off.

"Good thinking about deciding that we fly you guys to Hawaii past the kids bedtime." whispered a pilot as she carried Ava to one of the seats and started strapping in.

"Knowing the kids, they'll be less grumpy if they slept for most of the flight." whispered Spencer as he settled Piper into a seat and started to strap her in.

"Have you two ever flown on a private jet before?" whispered the other pilot as he settled a sleeping Albert into a seat and started to strap him in.

"When it comes to working for the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, I'm use to flying on a private jet." whispered Spencer.

"I flew on a jet a few times when it came to joining my husband a few times." whispered Olivia as she finished securing Daniel into his car seat.

"Since we have all your bags loaded in the baggage area and the kids are secured, we'll be taking off as soon as we're giving the all clear." said the male pilot.

"Thank you for helping us with the kids." whispered Spencer.

"Not a problem, and in a couple of hours we have a few gifts for your kids." said the female pilot.

Spencer and Olivia quickly got into two seats, and as soon as they were given the all clear to move about the cabin they worked on tucking their kids into the bed before joining their kids in bed.

* * *

Over 11 hours later Piper, Albert, and Ava gasped as they entered their loaned beach house with their parents and baby brother before running to the back patio door where they saw the beach that they have to themselves before exploring the house.

After spending a few minutes to explore the house, Spencer looked at his three oldest children.

"Before we decide on what to do, we should work on unpacking our clothes and groceries." said Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all groaned before they started to help their parents put everything away while making their beds with the mattress protectors, sheets, and light blankets that they brought along.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer looked at his three oldest children.

"Since we all slept during the flight, what do you guys want to do today?" asked Spencer.

"Go to the beach." said Albert.

"Then let's go get into our swimsuits." said Olivia before passing Daniel off to his father, "I'll take care of the girls while you take care of the boys" said Olivia.

"Come on, buckaroo." said Spencer as he took his oldest son's hand.

* * *

20 minutes Spencer and Olivia were putting glasses straps onto Piper's and Albert's glasses before Spencer applied straps to his own glasses.

"Now we can enjoy playing in the water while not having to worry about not being able to see, so please don't remove these straps." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "What are you going to do?" asked Spencer.

"I'll play in the sand with Daniel while you play in the ocean with Piper, Albert, and Ava." said Olivia as she set a blanket onto the sand while putting the bag that contained everything that was needed to build a sand castle down.

"OK." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at her three oldest children.

"If you guys are going to tackle daddy at all, please be careful with daddy's bad knee." said Olivia sternly.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all looked at their mommy.

"Yes, ma'am." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava before Piper looked at her two younger siblings.

"Race you guys." said Piper as she sprinted off to the ocean.

A few minutes later Spencer, Piper, Albert, and Ava were playing in water that reached the middle of Albert's waist.

"Even though you three munchkins are wearing life vests, this is the deepest that I'm allowing you three to go." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Piper as she charged after her daddy.

A few seconds later both Spencer and Piper were both underwater, and as soon as Spencer and Piper resurfaced they started laughing along with Albert and Ava before staring a splashing and tackling war.

* * *

20 minutes later Olivia looked at her baby boy as she showed her youngest son how to build a sand castle.

"Do you think that daddy, Piper, Albert, and Ava are having fun?" asked Olivia as she reached for her camera to take a picture.

Daniel turned his head to the area where his daddy and three older siblings splashing water at each other while occasionally tackling each other.

"Yes." said Daniel.

Olivia burst out laughing when she saw Piper and Ava tackle her shirtless husband into the water before her laughing husband got himself back up and shook his wet curly hair.

"Its good to see your daddy laughing again." said Olivia.

The 16 month old blonde curly haired and blue eyed toddler smiled at his mommy.

"I swim." said Daniel.

Olivia quickly grabbed Daniel's lift vest while being glad that her husband already put a swim diaper on her youngest son.

"Let's get your life vest on you before we go join your daddy, brother, and sisters." said Olivia as she put Daniel's life vest on her youngest son before carrying her youngest son into the ocean where they joined in on the splashing war while being careful of Daniel.

* * *

90 minutes later Spencer and Olivia smiled at each other as their four kids were about to fall asleep in the bathtub.

"Seems like they'll be taking a nap for a few hours before dinner." said Spencer.

"Luckily we ate lunch before coming to this house." said Olivia.

"Let's get these kids out of the tub and into bed." said Spencer.

10 minutes later Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel were all dried off and placed into the clothing they wore earlier before Spencer tucked his two little girls into bed while Olivia tucked in her two little boys before Spencer and Olivia met up in the hallway.

"We should wash all this sand and ocean water off of us before we have some time to ourselves." said Spencer.

"Lets take a shower together?" asked a smirking Olivia as she decided to remove her bikini top.

Spencer groaned as he felt his swim trunks start to feel tight before he lifted up his wife and carried her to the master bathroom.

* * *

30 minutes after dinner Spencer was sitting outside with his three oldest children who were all either wearing sundresses or shorts and a polo shirt.

"So did you guys have fun during your first day here?" asked Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all nodded while Olivia came over with Daniel.

"We'll stay out here for two hours before bath time and bedtime." said Olivia.

"OK, mommy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Piper looked at the ocean that was 15 feet away from them that didn't have any waves at the moment.

"I wish I can go swimming again before bath time." sighed Piper.

Spencer and Olivia looked at each other as they thought about allowing the kids to go swimming again would help them sleep the entire night.

"Let's go get you changed into your swim suit." said Spencer.

"Mommy told me about how you two went swimming in your clothes on your first day here. So I don't care if I get my dress all wet from the water and dirty from the sand since I'll be taking a bath and put on a night gown for bed." said Piper.

Spencer and Olivia burst out laughing at their oldest child's logic before Spencer looked at his oldest daughter.

"You win, Piper." said Spencer.

Olivia quickly got up.

"I'm going to go grab your life vest, Piper." said Olivia before looking at Albert and Ava, "Do you two want to join your big sister?" asked Olivia.

"Yes." said Albert.

"Yes." said Ava.

Olivia quickly rushed towards the house allowing himself to look at his three kids.

"Do you want mommy or me to join you three?" asked Spencer.

"You, daddy." said Piper as she started working her eyes on her daddy causing Albert and Ava to join in with the puppy dog eye trick.

Spencer laughed as he saw Piper, Albert, and Ava all giving him puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." chuckled Spencer.

As soon as Piper, Albert, and Ava were secured in their life vests, Spencer, Piper, Albert, and Ava were all removing their sandals before they sprinted off towards the ocean.

* * *

45 minutes later a soaking wet Spencer looked at his three oldest children who were all soaking wet from either splashing water or tackling each other as they stood in water that reached the middle of Ava's waist before looking at Olivia who was waiting with Daniel by the fire she built.

"Are you three munchkins ready to go warm yourselves up by the fire that mommy built?" asked Spencer as he moved his wet curls away from his eyes.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all nodded, and four minutes later Olivia was handing towels to Spencer, Piper, Albert, and Ava before they all gathered around the fire to make S'mores before it was time for the kids nightly baths.

* * *

Two hours later Olivia looked at her husband as they got ready for bed.

"Did you have fun earlier with Piper, Albert, and Ava?" asked Olivia.

Spencer nodded as his curly hair bounced.

"I did." said Spencer.

"Its nice to see you release your inner child when it comes to the kids." said Olivia.

"I know, but maybe in a few years we can come back since Daniel's too young to remember this vacation." said Spencer.

"We should." said Olivia before looking at her husband with a sad smile on her face, "How are you doing?" asked Olivia.

"Even though I am missing mom, Dr. Andrews is right that this vacation is what we needed." said Spencer.

"Well its a good thing that Dr. Andrews told you that we can have mommy and daddy here because I got really turned on earlier when your wet clothes were plastered to your skin." said Olivia as she kissed her husband.

A few seconds later Spencer and Olivia were making out in bed while a Hawaiian breeze filtered in through their open windows.

* * *

The next day Spencer and Olivia looked at their three oldest children as they ate their breakfast.

"Today we're going to Hanauma Bay State Park where we'll be going snorkeling with tropical fist and sea turtles before we attend a luau tonight." said Spencer.

Piper, Albert, and Ava all grinned at the idea of going snorkeling.

"When are we leaving?" asked Piper.

"As soon as we clean up from breakfast since we have an hour long drive." said Spencer.

"OK." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was driving his family to Hanauma Bay State Park.

* * *

Three days later Piper gasped when she reached Maunawili Falls with her parents and siblings.

"Can we go swimming to cool down?" asked Piper as she moved her sweat soaked shirt to prove that the humid tropical weather wasn't doing her any good.

"We can since mommy told me that she had you put on your swim suit underneath your clothes." said Spencer as he reached into his back pack and pulled out the water shoes that they packed.

Ava looked at her daddy.

"What about you and Albert?" asked Ava as she looked at her daddy and twin brother who were both wearing khaki shorts and t-shirts.

"We just have to empty our pockets and remove our shirts." said Spencer as he removed his t-shirt before removing his wallet from his khaki shorts.

Piper thought about the life vest that she had to wear when they went snorkeling and swimming with dolphins.

"Do we have to wear life vests?" asked Piper.

Olivia looked at Piper, Albert, and Ava as she removed three life vests from her own backpack.

"You three are going to wear the life vests that daddy and I packed." said Olivia.

Two minutes later Piper, Albert, and Ava were sporting their life vests when Albert looked at his mommy.

"Are you going to join us, mommy?" asked Albert.

Olivia looked at Daniel who was falling asleep.

"I'm going to stay here with Daniel and take a lot of pictures of you guys, and when he wakes up we'll join you guys since I packed Daniel's life vest and a swim diaper." said Olivia.

Two minutes later Spencer, Piper, Albert, and Ava were jumping into the water and as soon as Spencer, Piper, Albert, and Ava resurfaced they swam over to the waterfall while Spencer kept an eye on his three older children.

* * *

The next day Spencer was holding Piper's hand as they walked on their private beach barefooted while allowing water lap gently over their bare feet.

"Are you still sad about grandma going to Heaven, daddy?" asked Piper.

Spencer looked down at his oldest daughter who had developed a slight tan from spending every waking hour in the sun while wearing shorts and a t-shirt that they bought the day before.

"I'm sad about my mom going to Heaven every single day, but being off of work to spend time with you, mommy, and your siblings is helping me feel better." said Spencer.

Piper looked up at her daddy who was wearing khaki shorts and a Hawaiian shirt that mommy insisted on buying for her daddy.

"Do you think grandma and grandpa are watching over us right now?" asked Piper.

"I believe they are." said Spencer.

Piper stopped walking and let go of her daddy's hand.

"What are you doing, Piper?" asked Spencer.

Piper grinned at her daddy.

"I want to go swimming, but I don't want to go inside and change." said Piper.

Spencer shook his head.

"You are so your mother's daughter when it comes to wanting to go into the ocean fully clothed." said Spencer.

"Can we go swimming without my life vest since its just you and me?" asked Piper as she worked her big brown eyes on her daddy.

Spencer nodded at his daughter and a few minutes later they were in the ocean splashing water at each other with huge smiles on their faces while not realizing that Olivia was outside filming them while Albert, Ava, and Daniel took their early afternoon naps.

* * *

A week later Spencer and Olivia looked at the kids as they buckled them us as the jet began to land.

"Did you guys have fun?" asked Spencer.

"I did." said Piper.

"I did." said Albert.

"I did." said Ava.

Spencer looked towards the area where his 16 month old son was sleeping.

"Do you guys think that we should go back in a couple of years so we can have DJ remember a trip to Hawaii?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

"What are we going to do today?" asked Piper.

Spencer looked out the window and smiled as he saw the sun rising.

"Work on laundry and take a nap so we're not that tired when we go to Papa Dave's this evening since your aunts, uncles, and cousins wants to see us after being away for two weeks." said Spencer.

"I missed uncle Aaron." said Piper.

"I missed auntie Penelope." said Albert.

"I missed Papa Dave." said Ava.

"Everyone will be there including uncle Derek." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

* * *

Later on that evening Spencer and Olivia smiled as they saw their kids happily greet their extended family before Emily looked at Spencer and Olivia who were both sporting healthy tans while their hair was highlighted from a lot of sun.

"You two definitely had a lot of sun in Hawaii." said Emily as she hugged one of her favorite couples.

"We spent every daylight hour outside while only being indoors when it came to eating and sleeping." smiled Spencer.

Hotch, Emily, Rossi, JJ, Will, Garcia, Morgan, Tara, Luke, Stephan, and Monica all smiled a bit as they noticed the happiness that was showing in Spencer's eyes.

"We have tons of videos and pictures to show you guys, and Piper's a natural on a surf board." smiled Olivia.

"Daddy and I took surfing lessons and mommy made a video." beamed Piper before running off to where Albert and Ava were playing with Jack and Henry.

"Now that video I have to see." said Morgan.

"Luckily I have all the photos and videos transferred onto a DVD today, but we can watch the DVD after dinner." said Olivia.

* * *

15 minutes later Spencer, Olivia, Piper, Albert, and Ava took turns telling everyone about their trip before they gathered in Rossi's living room so they could watch the DVD that contained all the photos that were taken and the videos that were made.


	41. Surface Tension

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Shout out to Hippichic81, tannerose5, and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 40.

 _As much as I would love Spencer and Olivia to have more biological children, they're done having biological children since Spencer had a vasectomy done when Olivia was pregnant with Daniel, but they have talked about adopting when the kids are much older._

 _With Diana Reid now being dead means, I had to be creative when it came to why Spencer would be working from home during Surface Tension. So I hope you readers love my take of Surface Tension while getting to find out about how high Piper's IQ is._

 _Some of the facts about chickenpox and Kawasaki Disease that are mentioned in this chapter are true because after I went through Kawasaki Disease when I was 19, I was asked if I'm immune to chickenpox. So Piper's the only child that won't be getting sick in this chapter._

* * *

Spencer was kneeling at his mother's grave planting some flowers as he talked to his mother.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been here since the funeral. For a few days I couldn't get out of bed except to eat, shower, and drink water." said Spencer before smiling a bit, "When it came to spending a few days in bed, my psychologist decided to send Olivia, the kids, and I to Hawaii for two weeks. That vacation did us some good since I got to spend quality time with Olivia and the kids without having to worry about my phone ringing to alert me of my next case. I thought that I should tell you that I'm returning to work tomorrow since Livy told me that I should try to return to the BAU before I accept a job offer that I've been given." said Spencer before he began to update his mom on her grandchildren before heading home for dinner.

* * *

Later on that night Spencer looked at his wife as they got ready for bed.

"Are you sure that I should return to work tomorrow?" asked Spencer.

"Its time for you to go back to your usual routine before the kids think that your going to be a stay at home father." said Olivia.

"I know, and I promise to give myself a trial run of returning to the BAU before I think about joining Hotch again." said Spencer.

* * *

The next morning Spencer walked into the bullpen only to be called into Emily's office.

"Are you sure that your ready to be back today?" asked Emily.

"Even though I enjoyed getting to spend a month with Olivia and the kids, I've been going a bit stir crazy." said Spencer.

Emily laughed as she thought about how Spencer was whenever he was sick or injured before Olivia entered his life.

"It will be nice to have the team back to full function again, and if you need more time let me know." said Emily.

"I know, and I appreciate all the help I was given this past month." said Spencer.

"Your family to me, and the few times I got to interact with your mom I enjoyed talking to her." said Emily.

"I do miss my mom, but at lease she's no longer suffering." said Spencer.

A few minutes Spencer sat down at his desk and he sighed sadly as he looked at the last picture of him with his mom before he worked on unpacking books from his messenger bag until he heard of a familiar voice.

"Hey!" exclaimed JJ.

Spencer quickly turned his chair around to see JJ and Stephan causing him to get up.

"Welcome back." said JJ.

Spencer quickly pulled JJ into a hug.

"Hi." said JJ as she hugged Spencer tightly.

"Mmm! Even though I saw you a few times during my bereavement leave, I missed you so much." said Spencer.

Spencer looked at Stephan.

"Olivia and I wanted to thank you again for the meals that you and your wife brought over so Livy and I didn't have to cook." said Spencer.

Stephan looked at the photos that were all over Spencer's desk.

"When finding out why you were on leave, Monica and I wanted to help you and your family out a bit." said Stephan.

"How are you, Olivia, and the kids doing with the loss of your mom?" asked JJ.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"We have good days and bad days, but that two week vacation in Hawaii did us some good." said Spencer.

"When seeing all those photos that were taken and the videos that were made, I can tell that those two weeks in Hawaii was just what you, Olivia, and the kids needed." said JJ.

Before he could answer, Spencer's personal cellphone started to ring.

"Excuse me." said Spencer as he quickly reached for his phone and saw that it was Olivia, "Is everything OK, Livy?" asked Spencer.

"Even though I would never ask you this on your first day back, but I need you to come home now." Olivia before coughing.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"Albert, Ava, Daniel and I are all sick with the same illness, but I don't want to tell you over the phone." said Olivia.

"All right, stay there. I'll be right…" said Spencer as he heard some violent coughing.

"Please hurry, Spencer." said Olivia.

"I'm on my way, OK?" asked Spencer as he quickly hung up.

Spencer quickly repacked his messenger bag while he looked at JJ and Stephan.

"Sorry, guys, I have to go." said Spencer.

JJ quickly noticed the worrying face of a parent.

"Everything all right at home?" asked JJ.

"Olivia and my three youngest children got sick so Livy asked me to come home and take care of her and the kids." said Spencer as he slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and started to hurry away, "Tell Prentiss I'll call her when I can." said Spencer.

Emily left her office as she noticed that Spencer was hurrying towards the elevators.

"What was that all about?" asked Emily.

"Reid apparently got a phone call from his wife about her and their three youngest children getting sick, so he's going home to help take care of his family." said Stephan.

Emily sighed.

"Oh, no, what a pain. We'll need to bring him up to speed later. Right now we have a case." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer entered the house only to burst out laughing when he saw Olivia who was sitting on the couch with Albert, Ava, and Daniel who were all covered in spots and all sporting oven mitts to prevent them from scratching while Piper sat as far away as possible.

"Chickenpox?" asked Spencer.

"Albert, Ava, Daniel, and I all started developing the rash an hour ago, and luckily we have enough oven mitts." said Olivia.

"You never been vaccinated or came down with chickenpox?" asked Spencer.

"I never did, and I know that I'll have to get a Shingles vaccination done." said Olivia.

Piper looked at her daddy.

"Are we going to get sick?" asked Piper.

"I'm already immune since I had chickenpox when I was a child, and with you being a Kawasaki Disease survivor mommy and I made sure that you were given your second dose of the Varicella vaccination before you started school since your immune system is much weaker." said Spencer.

Piper thought about how she is usually sent away to someone else's house whenever her siblings get sick.

"Are you sending me away, daddy?" asked Piper.

"Not this time, but are you going to help me around the house until a child psychologist comes over to give you your first IQ test?" asked Spencer.

Piper nodded.

"OK." said Spencer before looking at Olivia, "While I was driving back here, I got a text from Emily about having a case in Florida." said Spencer.

"With me asking you to come home, you have my permission to consult from home." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at his children.

"While I'm taking care of you guys, I'm going to be working on a case in our library. So that means I'll be closing the door and locking it. So if you guys need me, please knock." said Spencer.

Olivia looked at Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

"Let's go up to daddy's and my room since you three are bunking with me until we're better." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Olivia was upstairs with Albert, Ava, and Daniel when Spencer who was sending Alex a text message looked at Piper.

"I'm going to call your aunt Savannah, so do you think you can go play outside right now?" asked Spencer.

Piper nodded as she ran to the back patio door with Einstein, and a minute later Spencer had Savannah on his land line.

"What's up, Spencer?" asked Savannah.

"Olivia, Albert, Ava, and Daniel all have chickenpox, and luckily Piper didn't catch chicken pox since she received her second dosage of the Varicella vaccination a year ago." said Spencer.

"Damn." whistled Savannah before becoming serious, "So I take it that you want me to do a house call so Olivia, Albert, Ava, and Daniel don't get anyone else infected?" asked Savannah.

"I don't think you need to come over because its been advised that you shouldn't see a doctor unless a fever reaches over 102 degrees, but I know to call you or the kids pediatrician if their fevers get too high." said Spencer.

"Just make sure that they don't scratch too much, drink a lot of fluids, and get a lot of rest." said Savannah.

"I know, but I have one quick question." said Spencer.

"Shoot." said Savannah.

"Since there's an incubation period for chickenpox, are you going to be upset if Hank comes down with chickenpox since he's too young to be vaccinated?" asked Spencer.

Savannah quickly thought about her son playing with Daniel a week ago.

"Not at all because if Hank comes down with chickenpox, then that's one less vaccination I'll have to go through for my son." said Savannah.

"I have to get going since I will need to check on Olivia and my three youngest before I update JJ on what's going on." said Spencer.

"Please keep me updated because I can stop by after work since chickenpox are worse for adults." said Savannah.

"I will, and thank you." said Spencer before hanging up before heading upstairs to check on Olivia, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

* * *

A half hour later Spencer was on the phone with JJ while Alex was rubbing calamine lotion on Albert, Ava, and Daniel while Olivia took an oatmeal bath.

"So what are Olivia and your three youngest sick with?" asked JJ.

"Olivia, Albert, Ava, and Daniel all have chickenpox." said Spencer.

JJ laughed.

"Olivia must be embarrassed to catch an illness that usually affects children." said JJ.

"She is, but she said that I can conference in with you guys." said Spencer.

"Who's going to help you deal with taking care of Olivia and the kids?" asked JJ.

"Alex is here helping me take care of Olivia and the kids right now." said Spencer.

"I'm glad that you have some help, and I'll let the others know about why you can't join us in Florida." said JJ.

Spencer thought about Michael who was over two days ago.

"Even though Michael was vaccinated for chickenpox once and with having to wait a few years before his second dosage, will you be upset if Michael did catch chickenpox since he was over during the incubation period?" asked Spencer.

"If Michael does end up catching chickenpox from your kids, you saved Will and me by having to put Michael through one less vaccination, Spence." said JJ.

"Savannah told me that she won't be upset if Hank ended up getting infected too since she told me the same thing." said Spencer.

"Why didn't Piper get sick?" asked JJ.

"She had her second dose of the Varicella vaccine before she started kindergarten since chickenpox is dangerous for Kawasaki Disease survivors." said Spencer.

"Thank God for getting my goddaughter vaccinated. " said JJ.

"I know, and Livy doesn't mind me conferencing in with you guys since she feels guilty about having me come home during my first day back." said Spencer.

"I'll let you quickly go check on everyone before patching through with us." said JJ.

"Thank you, and I should be ready to patch through in five minutes." said Spencer.

"OK. Bye." said JJ before hanging up.

A few seconds later Spencer had Piper in the living room watching a movie before he headed upstairs to see Alex helping Olivia put on calamine lotion while Albert, Ava, and Daniel were asleep.

"Sleeping is the best medicine for them right now." said Spencer as he placed the three bottles of water and a sippy cup onto the night stand.

"I would have allowed you to rub calamine lotion on me, but I have a feeling you rubbing lotion on me would lead to something else." said Olivia.

"You got that right." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "I'm going to quickly read over the file that Emily emailed me before I patch in with everyone else." said Spencer.

"I'm going to go to sleep as soon as Alex's done." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at Alex.

"Thank you for agreeing to help me out." said Spencer.

"Not a problem, Spencer." said Alex.

A few minutes later Spencer was sitting at his desk in the library reading the files that was faxed over to him, and a few minutes later Spencer waved when he saw his teammates faces on his laptop.

"Hey, there's my favorite genius. Welcome back." said Rossi.

"It's good to be back. I'm sorry about all this trouble." said Spencer.

"No, don't be silly. Your right where you need to be, and if there's anything we can do to help, just let us know." said Emily.

"Thank you, and I take it that JJ mentioned that I already have help?" said Spencer.

"I already told them." said JJ.

Spencer became serious.

"I had a chance to look over the case files. Do we know anything new about the two victims in Tampa?" asked Spencer.

"Only about how little there is to learn, and Garcia can't find any connection between Helen Bollinger and George Findley." said Tara.

Spencer nodded.

"Which isn't that surprising. Homeless vet, upper middle class suburban mom. Not much overlap there." said Stephan.

"What about their personal lives?" asked Luke.

"Well, George was homeless, so his personal life was sort of problematic. Helen, on the other hand, ticks every box on the wholesome soccer mom checklist. President of her PTA, super active at church, heavily involved in charity work." said Garcia.

"Spence, have you looked at the ink markings yet?" asked JJ.

"I did. Whatever it is, it doesn't come from traditional sources of art, mythology, and literature. Except for the incomplete base of a triangle, the design is evocative of the pagan symbol for earth." said Spencer.

"Garcia, look into other questionable suicides and accidental deaths in the Tampa area recently." said Emily.

"Searching the sad stuff. On it." said Garcia before she signed Spencer and herself off.

A few minutes later Spencer was talking to Emily on the phone.

"What do you need me to do?" asked Spencer.

"Just mainly focus on taking care of your wife and kids and consult with us when you can." said Emily.

"I appreciate you allowing me to work from home." said Spencer.

"With losing your mom a month ago, I know that you would be worrying more about Olivia and the kids." said Emily.

"At least I'll be home for when a child psychologist comes by to give Piper her first IQ test since Livy told me not to cancel that IQ test." said Spencer.

"Please let me know how Piper's first IQ test goes while telling Olivia, Albert, Albert, Ava, and Daniel that I hope they get better soon." said Emily.

Spencer heard a knock on the door.

"Daddy." called out Piper.

"Piper's summoning me right now." said Spencer before hanging up.

A few seconds later Spencer was unlocking the door to the library and stepped into the hallway.

"What do you need?" asked Spencer.

"Nana Alex told me to tell you that she's running to the store to get us food, and I was wondering if I can read in here while you work." said Piper.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter as he made his decision.

"You can stay in here with me as long as you stay away from my desk while you listen to music on your I-pod whenever I take a phone call." said Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." said Piper.

A few minutes later Spencer entered the master bedroom where Olivia and the kids were laying down in to see Olivia awake.

"How are you guys feeling?" asked Spencer.

"The medicine that Alex gave us is helping a bit." said Olivia.

Spencer looked at his wife.

"I gave Piper permission to read in the library while I work in there." said Spencer.

"Good." said Olivia.

"I thought that I would check on you guys before I get back to work." said Spencer.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep." said Olivia.

"I'll see you in a few hours." said Spencer before leaving the master bedroom.

* * *

A few hours Piper watched her daddy study a map that he taped to the wall causing her to close her book.

"What are you doing, daddy?" asked Piper.

Spencer turned around and looked at his daughter.

"I'm doing a geographical profile on the city Tampa Bay." said Spencer.

"Tampa is in Florida." stated Piper.

"Correct." smiled Spencer.

"What does your geographical profile help you with?" asked Piper.

Spencer smiled softly at his daughter as he realized that Piper said geographical correct.

"I'm trying to narrow down the possible area that the dragon that your aunts and uncles are going to slay lives in." said Spencer before looking at his watch, "Let's go eat some lunch, and in an hour someone will be coming to visit you." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Piper.

"Why don't you go tell Nana Alex what you want to eat while I check on mommy and your siblings." said Spencer.

"OK." said Piper.

15 minutes later Spencer and Piper were eating grilled cheese sandwiches while Alex too

* * *

An hour later Spencer opened up the door and allowed Dr. Evans into the house.

"Sorry about the mess." said Spencer.

"Its OK, Dr. Reid.." said Dr. Evans.

"I should warn you that my wife and my three youngest children are quarantined in the master bedroom due to chickenpox, but luckily Piper didn't catch chickenpox since she's received the vaccination two times." said Spencer as he led the child psychologist into the kitchen.

"I'm already immune, so where's Piper?" ask Dr. Evans.

Piper quickly ran into the kitchen.

"Did someone say my name?" asked Piper.

"Piper, I would like you to meet Dr. Julia Evans who will give you an IQ test." said Spencer.

"So I get to find out if I'm really smart like you, daddy?" asked Piper.

"That's the plan." said Spencer before looking at Dr. Evans, "Because of what's going on right now, I'm working from home right now." said Spencer.

"So you'll be in your office, Dr. Reid?" asked Dr. Evans.

"Yes, and you can send Piper up to fetch me when your done." said Spencer.

"Will do." said Dr. Evans before looking at Piper, "Let's play some fun games." said Dr. Evans.

"OK." said Piper.

"Do you need anything before I go upstairs?" asked Spencer.

"Some water would be great." said Dr. Evans.

Spencer quickly fetched two bottles of water before kissing Piper's head.

"Good luck, Goober." said Spencer before walking away to check on Olivia, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

A minute later Spencer entered the master bedroom to see Alex helping Daniel eat.

"How are you guys doing?" asked Spencer.

"My tummy can hold down soup." said Ava.

"Good." said Spencer before looking at his wife, "Dr. Evans is currently downstairs giving Piper her first IQ test." said Spencer.

"Dr. Evans didn't back away when she found out why I couldn't be there?" asked Olivia.

"She's already immune, so she didn't want to cancel." said Spencer before looking at Albert and Ava, "Do you two need anything before I get back to work in the library?" asked Spencer.

"Some books to read please." said Albert.

Spencer looked at his oldest son.

"Why don't you rest some more when your done eating." said Spencer.

"OK." sighed Albert as he continued to eat his tomato soup.

* * *

An hour later Spencer was sitting in the living room with Dr. Evans while Piper was playing on the swing set that she received for her 5th birthday.

"So what's the verdict for Piper's IQ?" asked Spencer.

"Piper scored an IQ of 165 on the adult scale, and as she gets older I won't be surprised if her IQ ends up as big as yours since she's an extremely smart girl." said Dr. Evans before looking at Spencer, "So what plans do you and your wife have for Piper's education so she doesn't get bored and act out?" asked Dr. Evans.

"As of right now we don't want Piper to leave her age group, and Georgetown Day School had created a lesson plan to help challenge Piper so she doesn't have to leave her peers." said Spencer.

"Perfect." said Dr. Evans.

"Did Piper tell you about her extracurricular activities?" asked Spencer.

"She told me about loving gymnastics and her swimming lessons at the YMCA." said Dr. Evans.

"Do you think my wife and I are putting too much pressure on Piper with the extra school work she's getting and her extracurricular activities?" asked Spencer.

"Not at all since Piper's an extremely well adjusted girl, but I do have one suggestion for you." said Dr. Evans.

"What is it?" asked Spencer.

"Piper told me about losing her grandfather eight months ago and her grandmother a month ago and how you have to travel all over the country for work, and I think that Piper and her siblings will thrive much better if your not traveling frequently for work." said Dr. Evans.

Spencer sighed.

"After my mom died I talked to my wife about leaving the BAU and take a promotion that my former unit chief offered me, but Olivia wanted me to try and see if I can handle working for the BAU again before I accept that promotion." said Spencer.

"Your wife's right about you giving yourself some time, but just think about changing your career because the school year will be starting again soon." said Dr. Evans.

"I'll think about it." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Dr. Evans was leaving the house and Spencer was calling Piper back into the house.

"So how smart am I, daddy?" asked Piper.

"You have an IQ of 165, and my IQ was that score when I was your age." said Spencer.

"So I'm going to be really smart like you?" asked Piper.

"Most likely you will." said Spencer.

"Am I going to skip a lot of grades like you did?" asked Piper.

"Not yet because mommy and I want to keep you with your friends as long as possible. So when you start school again, your new teacher will continue to challenge you like Mrs. Turner did." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Piper.

"I should go check on mommy and your siblings." said Spencer.

"Can you tell mommy what my IQ is?" asked Piper.

"I should probably wait until mommy's feeling better." said Spencer.

"Can I watch a movie?" asked Piper.

"You sure can." said Spencer.

Alex came into the kitchen with a basket of laundry.

"What do you say about helping me start dinner?" asked Alex.

Piper grinned.

"Piper will be fine with me, Spencer." said Alex.

"I really appreciate you giving up your day to help me out with Olivia and the kids." said Spencer.

"You shouldn't deal with a sick wife and three sick kids on your own, and like I told you many times before your kids became grandchildren to me." said Alex as she shooed Spencer out of the kitchen.

A few minutes later Spencer entered the master bedroom and smiled when he found Olivia singing to Albert, Ava, and Daniel who were all crying from being itchy.

"Hey." said Spencer.

"Piper had her IQ test?" asked Olivia.

Spencer nodded.

"Piper has an IQ of 165 on the adult scale, and that was what I scored after my first IQ test." said Spencer.

"How about we talk more after I'm feeling like I don't have itching powder poured all over me." said Olivia as she tried to scratch herself.

"No scratching." scolded Spencer.

"Where's Alex?" asked Olivia.

"She's currently cooking dinner right now and Piper's helping her." said Spencer.

* * *

After dinner, Spencer was sitting at his desk pouring over everything that he was recently sent before calling Rossi and Emily.

"I thought that I should check in on you guys since I've eaten dinner a half hour ago, Olivia and my three youngest are sleeping, and Piper had her IQ test." said Spencer.

"So how did Piper's IQ test go?" asked Emily.

"She scored an IQ of 165 on the adult scale, and that was my score when I was Piper's age." said Spencer.

"So was it suggested that Piper skips as many grades like you did?" asked Emily.

"When I told Dr. Evans about how Georgetown Day School is already challenging Piper and her extracurricular activities, she said what Livy and I are doing is perfect since Piper's extremely well adjusted." said Spencer.

"You and Olivia are definitely some of the best parents I've ever seen." said Rossi.

"I know." said Spencer.

"Here comes Alvez." said Rossi.

Spencer instantly heard Luke's voice through the phone.

"It's what I thought. Heavy concentration of silky cay mixed with gravel and rock. And it's not a natural soil composite for the area, but it was present at all 3 disposal sites." said Luke.

"Which tells us what?" asked Emily.

"Well, it's used to repair sinkholes. And all of the victims, they were placed just inside the transition area." said Luke.

"You hear that, Reid?" asked Rossi.

"I did, and, you know, it fits with our profile about the unsub making a statement about environmental ruin." said Spencer as he quickly got up from his desk, "You know, sinkholes have been on the rise, actually, worldwide, due to urbanization, drilling, fracking." said Spencer as he searched for a certain book.

"Garcia?" asked Emily.

"She's here. Feed the beast." said Garcia through the phone.

"What can you tell us about sinkholes in Florida?" asked Emily.

"I can tell you that... Jinkies. Tread lightly, there are a gazillion of them. Over 500 in the Tampa Bay area alone since records started being kept in 1974. Why are you asking?" asked Garcia.

"We think our unsub is taking his victims to current or former sinkholes." said Emily.

"We're trying to anticipate which one he might pay a visit to next." said Rossi.

Spencer finally found the book he was looking for and was looking through the book.

"Guys, are they cover-subsidence or cover-collapse sinkholes?" asked Spencer as he headed back to his desk.

"Given their shallow layer of repair, I'd say they're cover-subsidence." said Luke.

"I'd chime in with an opinion as well if I knew what the hell you two were talking about." said Rossi.

"Cover-subsidence is where the ground very gradually begins to form a depression, usually circular, over the course of weeks or months." said Spencer.

"Cover-collapse is the nasty one. That's when the Earth just suddenly goes out from under your feet like a trapdoor." said Luke.

"We can find out for sure what these three were, but does it matter?" asked Emily.

"It might. I'm basically just looking for parameters to narrow down the search. I did a latitude/longitude study of a few locations, but I couldn't find a numerical pattern. Let me try a few more algorithms, though." said Spencer as he quickly started to write again.

"Maybe the date that the sinkholes formed means something or the dates they were repaired. I don't know. I'm just grasping at straws." said Luke.

"We don't want to keep you from taking care of your family and doing your algorithms, kid. Get back to us if you find something." said Rossi.

"All right. Thank you, bye." said Spencer before hanging up.

Piper removed her bulky headphones and looked at her daddy.

"Can you tell me about how grandma was before she got really sick?" asked Piper.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"I've told you about your grandma a lot." said Spencer.

"I like hearing stories about grandma." said Piper.

Spencer looked at Piper.

"Let me do some work for a few minutes before I show you one of grandma's scrap books." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Piper.

10 minutes later Spencer was curled up with Piper on the couch going through one of his mother's scrap book, and when Piper saw a picture of a tightrope walker she looked at her daddy.

"Why is that little boy's head on that picture?" asked Piper.

Spencer chuckled as he thought about his mom telling him that that's him.

"I glued that picture of me there myself." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Piper.

"When I was a bit younger than you, your grandma, grandpa, and uncle Gordon took me to the circus for the first time." said Spencer before chuckling a bit, "Apparently my four year old self decided that I wanted to become a tightrope walker." said Spencer.

Piper laughed.

"I already can walk across a high beam with no help while doing a flip." said Piper.

"I know." said Spencer as he held out his wrist, "You see this little scar on my wrist?" asked Spencer.

Piper nodded.

"That's from where I fell when I was trying to balance on the backyard fence." said Spencer.

Piper giggled.

"You really tried that, daddy?" asked Piper.

"I was so determined to make it the whole way. And your grandma could never forget looking out the kitchen window, watching me out there as I was trying to make a balancing pole from a broomstick. Calculating how long it should be and making adjustments. Your grandma called me her budding genius." said Spencer.

Piper looked at the scar on her daddy's wrist.

"Did you ever make it?" asked Piper

"No. And I was heartbroken." said Spencer before sighing sadly, "You see, the problem was, I was so smart, and so brilliant, I really believed that I could solve anything I put my brain into it." said Spencer.

"But that tightrope...," said Piper.

"I couldn't figure it out myself, but I was meant for bigger things, Piper now, how do you tell that to my five year old self?" asked Spencer as he kissed Piper's hand.

"Did you just tell me that no genius is perfect?" asked Piper.

Spencer nodded.

"There will be times that you do make mistakes, and you'll learn from your mistakes." said Spencer.

"So when you told me that you were always meant for bigger things, you were talking about joining the FBI?" asked Piper.

"There was a crime in my neighborhood when I was four years old that was etched into my mind forever, and little did I know that when I was 27 that I would realize the main reason why I decided to join the FBI." said Spencer.

"Do you want to know what I want to be when I grow up?" asked Piper.

"What?" asked Spencer.

"I do want to compete in the Olympics, and after the Olympics I want to be a heart doctor to help kids when their hearts get sick." said Piper.

Spencer smiled as he thought about how his oldest daughter survived Kawasaki Disease.

"You will be an excellent pediatric cardiologist someday." said Spencer as he hugged Piper.

* * *

Spencer entered his and Olivia's bedroom and he smiled when he saw Olivia reading to Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

"Here's some water guys." said Spencer as he passed out glasses of water and a sippy cup for Daniel.

"Than you, Spencer." said Olivia.

"Thank you, daddy." said Albert.

"Thank you, daddy." said Ava.

"Ank you, Dada." said Daniel as he took a sip from his sippy cup.

"How are you guys feeling?" asked Spencer.

"Better, but I itchy." said Albert.

"Eventually the itchiness will go away, so just focus on getting a lot of rest." said Spencer before looking at his wife and kids who were all tired, "It's been a really long day. You should probably sleep now."

A few minutes later Spencer was tucking Piper in one of the guest bedrooms.

"Why am I sleeping here?" asked Piper.

"Yours and Ava's room will need to get disinfected, and are you wanting me to sleep with you?" asked Spencer.

"Can you daddy?" asked Piper.

"It might be a few hours before I join you, Piper." said Spencer as he kissed his oldest daughter goodnight.

"I love you, daddy." said Piper as she burrowed herself underneath the covers.

"Love you too, Piper." said Spencer before leaving the room and headed to the library.

Two minutes later Spencer was looking at the book that he had out earlier causing him to call Emily.

"Emily." said Spencer.

"What is it, Reid?" asked Emily.

"I think our unsub is trying to literally send his victims to hell." said Spencer.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rossi.

"Sinkholes don't just exist in a geologic context. They also have a symbolic history." said Spencer as he quickly got up and rushed to one of the bookshelves to find a book, "In Mexico they're called Cenotes, and the ancient Mayans believed them to be portals to the underworld. They even made human sacrifices to certain Cenotes." said Spencer as he started to page through the book.

"The suicide aspect of the unsub's ritual makes sense now. That is a sin, right? And you can't go to hell unless you've sinned." said Stephan.

"In Bryce's mind, the devil opened up the Earth and swallowed his parents. Now this is his way of showing his gratitude." said Emily.

"That's why he must be choosing especially virtuous victims, people who have tickets to a front-row seat in Heaven." said Rossi.

"Until Bryce stamped them null and void and sent them in the other direction." said Stephan.

"There's more. I think the mark he's making on his victims' arms is a rough rendering of the Ophiuchus star cluster." said Spencer.

"Which is?" asked Emily.

Spencer quickly got up and looked at his geographical profile.

"The Ophiuchus star cluster is the constellation of the devil." said Spencer as he allowed his mind to picture the constellation to go onto his geographical profile, "Three of the disposal sites correlates with a three star section of the constellation." said Spencer.

"So he could be using that as a guide to dumping the bodies." said Emily.

"Is there a discernible pattern of progression?" asked Stephan.

"It's hard to say for sure, but my guess is he'll be heading to a sinkhole in the vicinity of latitude 27.75, longitude minus 82.25." said Spencer.

"Meaning here, here, or here." said Stephan.

"We'll split the team. Let's move." said Emily.

"Stay safe, guys." said Spencer.

"Get some rest." said Emily before hanging up.

* * *

A half hour later a freshly showered Spencer checked on Olivia and his three youngest children who were all sleeping peacefully, and five minutes later Spencer was joining Piper in one of the guest bedrooms.

* * *

 _A/N: Only two more chapters left until this universe is complete._


	42. A Good Husband & Piper's Request

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds

A/N: Shout out to OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 41.

 _This chapter takes place_ _10 days_ _after the last chapter so Olivia, Albert, Ava, and Daniel are no longer contagious, but they're still covered with chickenpox scabs._ _This chapter starts on July 31_ _st_ _._

* * *

Spencer was doing dishes with Olivia when Olivia who was still covered with scabs looked at her husband.

"Since Albert, Ava, Daniel, and I are no longer contagious, you should go back to work." said Olivia.

"Are you sure you want me to go back?" asked Spencer.

"If you stay home any longer, the kids might think that your becoming a stay at home father." said Olivia.

Spencer pulled out his phone and sent Emily a text message.

SINCE OLIVIA, ALBERT, AVA, AND DANIEL ARE NO LONGER CONTAGIOUS, OLIVIA INSISTS THAT I COME BACK TO WORK TOMORROW. I KNOW THAT RETURNING TO WORK WON'T BE EASY FOR ME, BUT I KNOW THAT I NEED TO GIVE MYSELF A CHANCE. ~ SR

A few seconds later Spencer's cellphone vibrated to see a text from Emily.

WE HAVE A CASE AND WE CAN TALK AFTER BRIEFING. ~ EP

Spencer sighed.

"There's a case." said Spencer as he hurried towards the stairs to grab everything that he needs.

A few minutes later Piper, Albert, and Ava saw their daddy rushing towards the door.

"Where are you going, daddy?" asked Piper.

"There's a case, so I have to hurry to the BAU." said Spencer.

"Don't go, daddy." cried Piper, Albert, and Ava as they all started crying.

Spencer knelt down as he hugged his three oldest children.

"As much as I want to stay home with you guys, I have to work since mommy's not working for the summer." said Spencer.

For the next 10 minutes Spencer and Olivia worked on comforting their three oldest children together before Spencer hurried out the door.

* * *

Over an hour later Spencer just about approached the conference room when he heard Tara spoke.

"Is Robert Durst in town?" asked Tara.

"Nope, he's serving seven years on a weapons charge." said Spencer before looking at his teammates, "Sorry I'm late, guys. Traffic was bad." said Spencer.

"Any ID on the torso victim?" asked Emily.

"Uh, they don't have enough of him to do a query with the national missing and unidentified persons database." said Garcia.

"He made a real effort to pull of permanent concealment." said JJ.

"Well, that could indicate a known link between the unsub and the victim." said Tara.

"Or he hoped to hide the fact that a killer had just arrived in town." said Stephan.

Emily did some fiddling with Garcia's remote.

"It strikes me that he must be familiar with the area. I mean, you don't murder someone out in the desert and then bring the body back into a populated area." said Emily.

"So the unsub was skilled enough to hunt, kill, dismember, and dispose of his victims, all within city limits." said Spencer.

"And escape without being seen." said Luke.

"And his tradecraft was on point, too. He brought an effective cutting tool and had a secure location or vehicle to do the deed." said Stephan.

"That kind of planning could indicate he's been fantasizing about something like this for quite a while." said Tara.

"And if the reality didn't live up to the fantasy, he'll keep at it until he gets it right. Wheels up in 30." said Emily.

A minute later Spencer had Olivia on the phone.

"So were are you off to this time?" asked Olivia.

"I'm leaving for Palm Springs, California in 30 minutes." said Spencer.

"We're going to be OK, Spencer." said Olivia.

"I know, and are any of the kids still awake?" asked Spencer.

"Only Piper's awake since Albert, Ava, and Daniel were tucked into bed after you left." said Olivia.

"Please put her on." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer smiled a bit as he heard Piper's voice.

"Where are you going, daddy?" asked Piper.

"I'm going to Palm Springs, California. So while I'm away please help mommy out." said Spencer.

"I will, and please stay safe because I don't want you to go away like grandma and grandpa." said Piper.

Spencer sighed sadly.

"I'll make sure to stay safe, and when I get home I'll tell you more about your grandma." said Spencer before looking at the clock, "I have to get going, and you should be going to bed soon. So I'll call you guys tomorrow morning while I'm eating breakfast." said Spencer.

"I love you, daddy." said Piper.

"Love you too, Piper." said Spencer.

"I love you, Spencer." said Olivia.

"Love you too, Livy. Please tell Albert, Ava, and Daniel that I love them and that I'll miss them." said Spencer.

"I will." said Olivia before hanging up.

A few minutes later Spencer was fixing himself a cup of tea when Emily approached him.

"Reid? Hey, are you good?" asked Emily.

"Yeah. I'm good. I'm a little frazzled." said Spencer.

"How did the kids take you coming back to work? You've got your hands full, I'm sure." said Emily.

"Piper, Albert, and Ava were all throwing tantrums about not wanting me to go to go away." sighed Spencer.

"Do you think your ready to come back yet?" asked Emily

"Olivia's a stay at home mom until school starts back up again, and she told me that she and the kids will be fine." said Spencer.

"Your kids are still grieving over their grandma while your still grieving over your mom. If you need more time, take it." said Emily.

"I know, but I just want to get back to my usual routine." said Spencer before walking away.

Emily sighed as she thought about how Hotch always managed to handle Spencer.

* * *

"The victim in the dumpster was Paul Mastriano, 28 year old real estate agent. When he didn't come and pick his daughter up and take her to school yesterday morning, his ex-wife immediately contacted the Palm Springs police department. I'm sending you the deets now." said Garcia.

"We can rule out the DC torso case. He only killed prostitutes. How did the ex-wife ID this victim?" asked Emily.

"She had his DNA profile when they did a genealogy study together before they broke up last August." said Garcia.

"So they were married six years, had a 6 year old daughter. Did the wife say why they divorced?" asked JJ.

"No, but let me look at records." said Garcia as she did some typing, "Well, he had a domestic abuse complaint and two DUls last year." said Garcia.

"Could the wife have had something to do with the murder?" asked Luke before he looked at Rossi, "Didn't your buddy Judd Ray barely survive a hit his wife put on him?" asked Luke.

"Yeah, she hired a hit man. But this, I mean, I've had cases where husbands dismembered their wives, but rarely is it the other way around." said Rossi.

"And she came in to ID him. In those cases, the guilty spouse didn't want law enforcement to know that their other half was dead." said JJ.

"He was last seen at a strip club about a mile away from where his body was found." said Stephan.

"Well, a lot of creeps and criminals run a place like that." said Tara.

"We'll have to check that out." said Emily.

"This story is blowing up on the news, this guy gotta know we found the body." said Luke.

"It could cause him to accelerate." said Spencer.

"Penelope, any similar cases in the area?" asked Emily

"Well, I can check ViCAP and neighboring states." said Garcia as she started typing, "Jeepers. Another body, and by body I mean torso, was just found 10 blocks from the original one." said Garcia.

"Was it found in a dumpster?" asked JJ.

"Uh, no, pedestrian spotted it in a parking lot." said Garcia.

"It could be an acceleration, or the unsub was interrupted. We are 20 minutes out. Notify Chief Bailor to leave the body and crime scene undisturbed until we get there." said Emily.

"Consider it done." said Garcia.

"JJ, why don't you, Tara, and Luke go to the newest disposal site. Dave, Stephen, find out what you can about the first victim from the club. Spencer and I will go to the Palm Springs PD and talk to the chief. He's got his hands full." said Emily.

* * *

Spencer and Emily followed Chief Bailor.

"We're very sorry about the officers you lost." said Emily.

"Worst thing in the department's history. But right now we have to focus on this case. I've got conference room set up for you right over here with everything you've got so far." said Chief Bailor.

"Any ID on the second victim yet?" asked Spencer.

"No. But I've got 50,000 residents worried we have a serial killer on our hands." said Chief Bailor.

Emily noticed a woman and a little girl causing her to think about Piper and Ava.

"Is that the first victim's ex-wife and daughter?" asked Emily.

"Madison was supposed to see her dad yesterday." said Chief Bailor.

"Do you mind if we talk to them?" asked Emily.

Chief Bailor shook his head.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

A few seconds later Spencer and Emily entered the room that Angela and Madison were in and Spencer gave Madison a smile that he used for his own children.

"Hi." said Spencer.

"Oh. If you're from social services, I haven't told her yet." said Angela.

"Are you gonna take me to my daddy now?" asked Madison.

Spencer's heart broke for Madison.

"No, not yet, sweetheart. Actually, we are from the FBI." said Emily.

"What's FBI?" asked Madison.

Spencer smiled when he saw a little girl causing him to think about all the dolls that his daughters own.

"Whoa! That is a cool doll. What's her name?" asked Spencer as he joined Madison on the floor.

Emily smiled a bit as she thought about how he's treating Madison like his own children.

"Sally. She has the same hair as you." said Madison.

Spencer laughed before looking at Emily and silently asked her if he could be in charge of distracting Madison.

"Do you mind if my colleague Dr. Reid takes Madison to get a snack and we can chat for a few minutes?" asked Emily.

"Maddie, you be a good girl and you get something nice and you come right back, OK?" asked Angela.

"Yes, Mommy." said Madison.

Spencer got up.

"OK. After you." said Spencer as he playfully bowed for Madison.

A giggling Madison walked through the doorway before looking up at Spencer.

"What's FBI?" asked Madison.

"FBI? You know, we're kind of like the police. Let me ask you this..." said Spencer before thinking about the joke he made for his kids, "Have you ever had a peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich?" asked Spencer.

"Eew!" said Madison.

A few minutes later Spencer was fixing Madison and himself each a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and when they were both finished with their sandwiches, Madison looked at his wedding band.

"Do you have kids of your own?" asked Madison.

"I have four kids of my own, and my three oldest love my peanut butter and jellyfish sandwich joke." said Spencer.

"How many girls do you have?" asked Madison.

"I have two little girls like you while having two little boys." said Spencer.

"How old are your two girls?" asked Madison.

"Piper's five and Ava's four." said Spencer.

"How old are your boys?" asked Madison.

"Albert's four and Daniel's 17 months old." said Spencer.

Madison quickly connected the dots.

"So Albert and Ava are twins?" asked Madison.

Spencer nodded.

"Albert's a clone of me while Ava's a clone of her mother." said Spencer.

"Can I please see a picture of your kids?" asked Madison.

"You sure can." said Spencer as he pulled out his phone and found one of the photos that was taken in Hawaii and pointed out his wife first, "That's my wife Olivia who is a high school math teacher." said Spencer.

Madison looked at the young woman in the picture.

"She's very pretty." said Madison.

"She's one of the most beautiful girls in the world just like my daughters and you." said Spencer before pointing at his four children and identified them.

"Do you have tea parties and play dolls with your own little girls?" asked Madison.

"I sure do, and sometimes my daughters have me push their twin beds together and have me sleep with them since they're extreme daddy's girls." said Spencer before smiling at Madison, "Want to see a really cool trick?" asked Spencer.

"Sure." said Madison.

A few seconds later Spencer was doing a few slight of hand tricks for Madison, and after he was finished, Madison looked at him.

"Can I go back to my mommy?" asked Madison.

Spencer pulled out his phone and sent Emily a text message.

ARE YOU DONE INTERVIEWING MRS. MASTRIANO? ~ SR

A few seconds later Emily replied.

WE'RE FINISHED. ~ EP

"Let's take you back to your mother." said Spencer before looking at Madison, "Would you like a piggy back ride?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, please." said Madison.

Spencer instantly helped Madison stand up on a chair before he helped Madison get onto his back, and a few minutes later Spencer entered the small interview room with Madison on his back.

"Hi mommy." grinned Madison.

"Did you have fun with, Dr. Reid?" asked Mrs. Mastriano.

Spencer swung Madison off his back.

"Spencer did some magic tricks for me while telling me that he is a daddy too." said Madison.

"How old are your kids?" asked Mrs. Mastriano.

"I have two boys and two girls between the ages of five years old and 17 months old." said Spencer.

A few minutes later Emily looked at Spencer.

"You OK?" asked Emily.

"Spending time with Madison made me realize how much I'm missing my own kids right now, but I want to make sure that her daddy gets justice." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer posted a picture onto the clear board.

"The second victim is Brent Miller, date of birth, May 15, 1982. I asked Garcia to find out what she can about him." said Spencer.

"How'd they make the ID?" asked Chief Bailor.

"Oh, he did an ICM." said Spencer.

Chief Bailor looked at Spencer.

"Internal Cardiac Monitor with a transmitter linked to the patient's medical file." said Spencer.

"Our agents are headed over to the coroner's to see if he's determined an official cause of death." said Emily just as Spencer's cellphone rang.

"Garcia, I'm putting you on speakerphone." said Spencer as he put his phone on speaker.

"OK, there's no connection between the victims, and there doesn't seem to be anything on Brent Miller. He managed Downtown Bagels. He has no criminal record. He has no DMV infractions." said Garcia.

"Any family in the area?" asked Emily.

"Mm, never married, no kids. Uh, he did just go through a recent breakup, so his credit card receipts have quite the bar tabs." said Garcia.

"The first victim, Paul Mastriano, went through a divorce last August. Garcia, do you have any information on Brent's relationship?" asked Spencer.

Garcia started to type.

"Uh, according to social media... Ouch. His girlfriend of 3 years just moved to Alaska with her new beau last month." said Garcia.

"You think that's significant?" asked Chief Bailor.

"Both of our victims had relationship issues and were apparently drowning their sorrows. It's the best lead we have right now. It'd be a good idea to canvass all the bars in town." said Emily.

Garcia quickly spoke up before Spencer could hang up.

"How are you doing, boy wonder?" asked Garcia.

"I'm doing OK." said Spencer before hanging up.

"What did your technical analyst mean?" asked Chief Bailor.

"My mom died five weeks ago, and today is my first day back in the field." said Spencer.

"I'm sorry for your loss." said Chief Bailor.

"Thank you." said Spencer softly.

* * *

The next day Spencer was sitting next to Emily as they sat across from Ms. Ericsson.

"I know this is difficult, Ms. Ericsson, but we may have found your brother. You said Dale had a unique Y-shaped abdominal scar?" asked Emily as she showed a picture.

Ms. Ericsson started crying.

"We're very sorry for your loss." said Emily gently.

"I can't stop imagining what Dale went through. What they did to my brother is inhuman." cried Ms. Ericsson.

"And we are doing everything we can to make sure whoever is responsible is brought to justice." said Emily.

Ms. Ericsson shuddered a bit.

"This unsub seems to be targeting men who were having relationship troubles. Do you know if Dale was going through a breakup or anything?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, but he said it was just a fling. He's really careful, though, about dating. He'd never just go off with some guy he didn't know and trust from the local gay community." said Ms. Ericsson.

"Did his sexuality cause any issues between you two?" asked Emily.

"No. I encouraged him to be himself and live his life. And now he's dead because of it." said Ms. Ericsson.

"Your brother was not killed because he was gay." said Spencer.

"Then why was he killed?" asked a crying Ms. Ericsson.

* * *

A short while later Spencer was standing between Emily and Rossi.

"We're looking for a local male in his 30's with control issues. He may be gay or bisexual, and he has been harboring a kill fantasy." started Emily.

"Serial killers exist along a continuum just like anyone else. This one happens to be gay." said Rossi.

"Until now, he's been able to sublimate his homicidal urges by controlling either his work environment or his relationships." said Tara.

"He may not be physically imposing himself, so he drugs his victims to paralyze and control them." said Stephan.

"He then chops of their limbs as a method of torture before he removes their heads because this gives him the ultimate feeling of power." said Emily.

"It's also an act of depersonalization, meaning he's intentionally negating the characteristics that make them uniquely human." said Spencer.

"We haven't found any of the body parts in dumpsters. Do you still think that's his disposal method?" asked Chief Bailor.

"It's either that or he digs shallow graves in the desert. It's easier to dig 5 one-foot holes than it is to dig one 5-foot hole." said Luke.

"The torsos he displayed are his trophies. He wanted them to be found." said Stephan.

"He targets victims of opportunity, but they've all been blond, healthy, and slim. So he has a type." said Luke.

"Which means his victims are most likely surrogates for a current or ex-partner, even a spouse, who he controlled through non-violent manipulation." said JJ.

"We believe he may have been rejected recently, causing the unsub to escalate to murder in order to regain a sense of control." said Tara.

"You should increase your nightly patrols of alleys and lots near bars and clubs. We will keep the community apprised of any new developments. Thank you all." said Emily.

* * *

"All of the media attention should be working in our favor." said Luke.

"Well, he knows we're here and we're after him. It'll cause him to make mistakes." said Emily.

"He'll get cocky, push the envelope, try to prove he's superior." said Rossi.

"And he'll take it out on his next victim. We can't let that happen." said JJ.

"No, we don't have to. This kind of narcissism would play out in his personal relationships as well." said Tara.

"He could be married. I mean, like with any relationship, he started out charming and eventually..." said Luke.

"Gay marriage leads to gay divorce. There'd be a record of that." said Emily as she called Garcia.

"Give me what you got, wonder woman." said Garcia.

"Garcia, search Palm Springs and the surrounding areas for male same sex couples that filed for divorce within the last few months." said Emily.

"Marital bliss, followed by marital diss. Of course. Why didn't I think of that?" asked Garcia as she started typing, "OK. There were three recent gay divorces in Palm Springs, but they all moved out of town after that." said Garcia.

"You know, actually, that small number isn't all that shocking, taking into account the brief time frame and the fact that gay couples divorce at about half the rate straight couples do." said Spencer.

"Maybe they aren't divorced yet. If they just separated, it would still enrage the unsub, and it could have led to this." said Stephan as he pointed at the board.

* * *

The next morning Spencer was in the drivers seat of an SUV taking pictures of the mourners.

* * *

Nearly a half hour later Spencer's cellphone vibrated causing Spencer to see that a Skype call was requested causing him to accept the call, and a few seconds later he saw Piper's face.

"What's up, Piper?" asked Spencer.

"Daddy?" asked Piper as tears fell down her face.

Spencer's heart broke when he saw tears streaming down Piper's face.

"What's wrong, Goober?" asked Spencer.

"I want to tell you something, and I don't want you to get upset." said Piper.

"What are you afraid about me getting upset over?" asked Spencer.

"I don't want you to travel for work anymore." cried Piper.

Spencer's heart broke when he heard Piper's request causing him to think about his interactions with Madison a few days ago.

"Right now I need to get back to work, but when I get home we'll talk." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." said Piper.

"I love you, Piper." said Spencer.

"I love you too, daddy." said Piper before she signed off.

Spencer sighed sadly as he pocketed his phone before grabbing the camera he was given and took more pictures before he sent them to Garcia.

* * *

Spencer was in an SUV with Emily and JJ.

"Mark's parents broke up when he was 6. According to family court records, his dad would take him to the butcher shop, where Mark had to chop carcasses while Dad drank. And Mom retained full custody, and Dad didn't bother to see him after that." said Garcia.

"Well, that makes sense, and Mark's behavior reeks of abandonment issues combined with a psycho-sexual thrill derived from butchering. He's a mix of Gacy and Dahmer." said Tara.

"Mark must have had a long-simmering desire to kill that he sublimated by controlling Bill." said Spencer.

"Till Bill was out the door, threatening filing for divorce. That had to be the trigger for the first murder." said Rossi.

"The discovery of the torso must have scared Bill back into Mark's arms." said JJ.

"But it was only temporary. No matter how frightened Bill was, he knew Mark wouldn't change." said Stephan.

"That's why Mark escalated to overkill and started displaying bodies in more public ways." said Luke.

"The more indecisive Bill was about getting back together, the more Mark tried to force him back home with fear." said Emily.

"They started out as rage kills but evolved into a more extreme form of coercive control." said Spencer.

"A final rejection highly increases the risk of death to the partner in cases like this." said Tara.

* * *

Spencer entered an apartment with JJ and Emily.

"FBI!" shouted Emily.

Spencer looked at Mark who was holding a meat cleaver.

"Drop it and show me your hands." ordered Spencer.

Mark quickly dropped the meat cleaver and put his hands into the air which allowed Chief Bailor to handcuff Mark while Emily quickly assisted Bill.

"It's OK. It's over. You're OK." soothed Emily.

"Oh, my God. He was... oh, my God." whispered Bill.

"Is there someone we can call for you?" asked Emily.

Bill nodded.

"We're still married. You can't say a word to them. They'll never prove anything!" shouted Mark before JJ took him out of the room.

* * *

Spencer approached Bill.

"Your husband's wrong. Marital privilege only applies to words spoken between spouses." said Spencer.

"So I can testify against him?" asked Bill.

"Legally, you can describe every detail of what Mark did to you. You just can't say what he confessed about other victims." said Spencer.

"Thank you. I want to make sure that he never hurts another person. I knew something was wrong, but I... I never suspected anything like this." said Bill.

"You shouldn't have." said Spencer.

"But I thought that I had found true love." said Bill while Spencer thought about his true love who was waiting at home for him with the kids, "I was so happy to get married. Now this. I'm such a fool." said Bill.

"Bill, we see in others what we want to see, and you trusted him, because you're a trustworthy person." said Spencer.

"I tried so hard to be a better person, to make it work with Mark." said Bill.

"That's the insidious nature of coercive control. Victims oftentimes don't even realize they're being manipulated and they blame themselves." said Spencer.

"I'll never feel safe in there again." said Bill just as his friends Diane and Renee came outside and hugged Bill before the trio walked away.

A few seconds later Emily approached Spencer.

"How you doing?" asked Emily.

"You know, Bill thought he found true love, but it turns out he didn't really even know the person he was married to. Which got me thinking, do we ever really know anyone?" asked Spencer as he thought about learning something new about his wife every day.

Emily smiled a bit as she thought about learning new things about Olivia every time she interacts with Olivia.

"Well, that, my friend, is the question that keeps us in business." said Emily.

"I suppose it does." said Spencer.

Emily stopped walking causing Spencer to stop walking.

"Spence... I know you've been under a lot of stress since both of your parents died. But I've known you long enough to know there's something more going on." said Emily.

Spencer looked at his unit chief.

"When I talked to Piper on Skype earlier, she told me that she doesn't want me to travel around the country anymore." said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "Seeing those tears fall down her face made my heart drop because I ended up thinking about Madison who just lost her father." said Spencer.

Emily instantly flashed back to watching Spencer with Madison Mastriano.

"So your planning on joining Hotch as his co-unit chief?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

"I need to be the husband that goes home every night while my kids gets to have me home every single night since I don't know if the next case will be the last case that I get to say 'I love you' to Olivia and the kids." said Spencer.

"Spencer. I couldn't be more proud of you." said Emily.

"Why?" asked Spencer.

"Your deciding to put your beautiful wife and kids first instead of this job, and knowing how you enjoy paper trails, you'll do good in White Collar Crimes." said Emily.

"I guess that when we're flying home I should let Hotch know that I'm ready." said Spencer.

"You should, and I'm going to miss working with you every day, but your making the right choice." said Emily as she hugged Spencer.

* * *

 _A/N: The next one will be the last chapter for this universe!_


	43. Saying Goodbye and New Beginnings

_Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds_

A/N: Shout out to tannerose5 and OhSnapItsMadison for reviewing chapter 41.

 _This is the last chapter! This was a very hard chapter to write since I'm sad that this story is over, but I thought that its better to end this story the way I'm ending it._

 _This chapter starts two hours after the last chapter, and I'm sorry that this chapter is short._

* * *

 **Previously in chapter 41**

 _Emily stopped walking causing Spencer to stop walking._

 _"Spence... I know you've been under a lot of stress since both of your parents died. But I've known you long enough to know there's something more going on." said Emily._

 _Spencer looked at his unit chief._

 _"When I talked to Piper on Skype earlier, she told me that she doesn't want me to travel around the country anymore." said Spencer as he took a deep breath, "Seeing those tears fall down her face made my heart drop because I ended up thinking about Madison who just lost her father." said Spencer._

 _Emily instantly flashed back to watching Spencer with Madison Mastriano._

 _"So your planning on joining Hotch as his co-unit chief?" asked Emily._

 _Spencer nodded._

 _"I need to be the husband that goes home every night while my kids gets to have me home every single night since I don't know if the next case will be the last case that I get to say 'I love you' to Olivia and the kids." said Spencer._

 _"Spencer. I couldn't be more proud of you." said Emily._

 _"Why?" asked Spencer._

 _"Your deciding to put your beautiful wife and kids first instead of this job, and knowing how you enjoy paper trails, you'll do good in White Collar Crimes." said Emily._

 _"I guess that when we're flying home I should let Hotch know that I'm ready." said Spencer._

 _"You should, and I'm going to miss working with you every day, but your making the right choice." said Emily as she hugged Spencer._

* * *

After Spencer completed his report, he pulled out his phone and texted Hotch.

I'M READY TO BE YOUR CO UNIT CHIEF SINCE PIPER ASKED ME TO STOP TRAVELING FOR WORK. ~ SR

A few minutes later Hotch replied.

I'LL LET YOUR NEW TEAMMATES KNOW THAT YOUR JOINING US. ~ AH

Spencer quickly replied.

I'LL SPEND THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK PACKING MY DESK AND TRANSFERRING EVERYTHING TO THE OFFICE WE'LL BE SHARING. ~ SR

A few minutes later JJ, Rossi, Luke, Stephan, and Tara all approached him.

"Texting with Olivia?" asked JJ.

"I was texting with Hotch." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked JJ.

"This case reminded me that I should start thinking about being the husband and father that goes home every night instead of traveling all over the country." said Spencer.

"So your going to join Hotch?" asked JJ.

"I am, but I don't know when my transfer will be happening." said Spencer before looking at Emily.

"I just talk to Cruz, and he's willing to speed up your transfer for Monday. He'll be meeting with us tomorrow morning so you can sign the paperwork." said Emily.

"Thank you." said Spencer.

JJ hugged Spencer.

"Even though I'll miss working with you every day, your making the right choice." said JJ.

"I know." said Spencer.

"Those honorary grandchildren of mine should have you home every night." said Rossi.

"You guys want to know why I made my decision to leave the BAU?" asked Spencer.

"Yes." said Rossi.

"When I was taking pictures of those mourners this morning, I end up accepting a Skype call from crying Piper who told me that she doesn't want me to travel anymore." said Spencer.

"Your five year old daughter must have really pulled your heartstrings." said Stephan.

"Piper's words sure did." said Spencer before looking at Stephan, "Even though I got to know you during my bereavement leave, I hope that I can get to know you better when your not on cases." said Spencer.

"I hope so too since I'm a huge fan of your published work." said Stephan.

Spencer looked at Tara.

"Are you still interested in me helping you with interviews?" asked Spencer.

"I could definitely use your help." said Tara.

Spencer looked at his teammates.

"I hope you don't mind, but I really want to tell Garcia myself." said Spencer.

"You should." said JJ.

Rossi looked at his teammates.

"I say that we should always have a monthly dinner at my mansion." said Rossi.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Definitely a good idea because my kids consider you all their aunts and uncles." said Spencer.

"Plus you'll get to spend more time with your godsons now." smiled JJ.

"I know." said Spencer.

Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Even though your not a fan of scotch, I want to do a toast." said Rossi.

"I'll only do a small sip." said Spencer.

"That's OK." said Rossi.

A few minutes later Spencer, Emily, JJ, Tara, Luke, Stephan, and Rossi each had a glass of scotch when Rossi spoke up.

"To one of the best profilers that I have ever met, Spencer Reid." said Rossi.

Everyone clinked their glasses before taking a sip before Rossi looked at Spencer.

"Should we have one more chess game or one more poker game on this jet?" asked Rossi.

"Poker." grinned Spencer before looking at Stephan, "Just so you know I'm the best poker player on this team since I grew up in Las Vegas and have been banned from casinos in Nevada." said Spencer.

Stephan laughed.

"I'm in." said Stephan.

A few minutes later Spencer, JJ, Luke, Emily, Rossi, Stephan, and Tara were playing a game of poker.

* * *

A few hours later Spencer was sitting at his desk when Garcia approached him.

"Shouldn't you be getting home?" asked Garcia.

Spencer turned his desk chair around.

"Just thinking about the 13 years and nine months worth of memories that I made in this bullpen." said Spencer.

"Why?" asked Garcia.

"While I was in Palm Springs, Piper requested that I stop traveling for work, so tomorrow's my last day in this unit since I'll be joining Hotch as his co unit chief on Monday." said Spencer.

Garcia quickly pulled Spencer into a hug.

"Even though I'm sad that your leaving, I'm glad that your deciding to work a much safer job." said Garcia.

"I'm sad about leaving too, but at least I'll still be in this building every day." said Spencer.

"I'm glad about that too, but I expect to get together for lunch everyday." said Garcia.

Spencer slightly chuckled.

"Deal, but right now I should head home and tell Olivia and the kids about what I'm doing since dinnertime is in 90 minutes." said Spencer.

"Give those cutie pies a hug and kiss from their auntie Penelope." said Garcia.

"I will." said Spencer before slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder.

* * *

90 minutes later Spencer looked at his family as they settled down for dinner.

"Starting tonight I'll be home every night." said Spencer.

"Really?" asked Piper.

"I'll be finishing up my duties at the BAU tomorrow and on Monday I'll be uncle Aaron's co unit chief." said Spencer.

"Yay!" cheered Piper, Albert, Ava, and Daniel.

"Why now?" asked Olivia.

Spencer looked at Olivia.

"We'll talk later." said Spencer.

Olivia nodded.

* * *

Four hours later Spencer recounted about his time with Madison and the request that Piper gave him over Skype.

"I didn't know that Piper Skyped with you today." said Olivia as she helped Spencer turn down their bed.

"I doubt that she would have told you, but spending time with that six year old girl made me realize that I should be coming home every night instead of having to rely on phone calls and Skype chats while I'm on the road." said Spencer before yawning.

"How about we talk more about your new job tomorrow." said Olivia.

A few minutes later Spencer and Olivia were fast asleep in their bed.

* * *

The next morning Piper looked at her daddy who was pouring maple syrup over her pancakes.

"Are you going to work today?" asked Piper.

"I have since I have to clear off my stack of paperwork before cleaning out my desk." said Spencer.

"Can I help you clean out your desk?" asked Piper.

Spencer and Olivia looked at each other.

"Why don't we help daddy pack up his desk today." said Olivia.

"Come after three PM." said Spencer.

* * *

Spencer entered the bullpen to see Cruz talking to Emily before he laid his eyes on Spencer.

"Let's talk in Prentiss's office." said Cruz.

Spencer quickly stashed his messenger bag under his desk before joining Cruz and Emily in Emily's office.

"So I heard that you decided to go join Hotch." said Cruz.

"Piper requested that I stopped traveling for work, and I know that White Collar Crimes will be a good step up for me." said Spencer.

"White Collar Crimes will be a good fit for you." said Cruz.

"If there's ever a case that deals with a case that I helped close I'll be glad to join the team." said Spencer.

"Are you sure?" asked Emily.

"Olivia told me that I should still occasionally consult for you guys." said Spencer.

Cruz looked at Spencer.

"I talked to the Director last night, and he was hoping that aside from being Agent Hotchner's co unit chief that you would teach profiling classes." said Cruz.

Spencer quickly thought about it.

"I would love to." said Spencer.

"Here's the paperwork that I need you to sign for your transfer." said Cruz as he placed the papers in front of Spencer.

Spencer quickly signed the paperwork before shaking Cruz's hands.

"Good luck." said Cruz.

* * *

Later on that afternoon Spencer was hugging his kids before his kids looked at the boxes and trolley that was by Spencer's desk.

"just have to pack away all my personal belongings." said Spencer.

"OK, daddy." chorused Piper, Albert, and Ava.

Spencer started handing his children his belongings while Olivia helped her children put everything in the boxes nicely.

* * *

Two hours later Olivia looked at her husband who was looking at his now empty desk.

"Having regrets about leaving the BAU?" asked Olivia.

"Even though I'm sad about leaving the BAU, I'm happy that I'll be getting more time with you and the kids." said Spencer before grinning, "I might as well do physics magic for one last time in here." said Spencer.

"Physics magic?" asked Piper.

Spencer nodded before looking at JJ.

"Want to let Penelope know that she should come in here to watch me do physics magic for the last time?" asked Spencer.

JJ grinned as she pulled out her cellphone to send a text message.

"What's physics magic?" asked Luke.

JJ grinned.

"Just wait and see." said JJ.

"I might as well go tell Rossi and Emily about what I'm about to do." said Spencer as he got up from his chair and hurried up the stairs.

"What's up, Spencer?" asked Emily.

"I decided that I should do physics magic in the bullpen one last time as a send off for me." said Spencer.

Emily grinned as she thought about the first time she encountered Spencer's physics magic.

"Let's go." smiled Emily as she got up from her desk.

"Let's tell Rossi together." said Spencer.

A few minutes later everyone in the bullpen watched Spencer do physics magic in the bullpen one last time. As soon as the film canister flew across the room, everyone clapped and cheered before Spencer was being given hugs or handshakes by everyone.

* * *

As soon as everyone in the bullpen was wishing Spencer good luck with his new job, Spencer looked at his wife and kids.

"Ready to head up to the White Collar Crimes Division to drop off everything and meet my new team before we head home?" asked Spencer.

"Yes, daddy." said Piper.

"Yes, daddy." said Albert.

"Yes, daddy." said Ava.

"Yes, Dada." said Daniel.

A few minutes later Spencer was looking at the bullpen as the elevator door closed on him and his family.

* * *

 _Less than 2 months later_

Spencer smiled when he saw Emily.

"Happy early birthday, Emily." said Spencer.

"Happy birthday, Spencer." said Emily as she pulled the 36 year old genius into a hug.

Spencer returned the hug, and as soon as he released Emily who noticed that Spencer has gained a few pounds while the dark circles under his eyes have completely disappeared.

"You look great." said Emily.

"Even though I miss working for the BAU, leaving the BAU has been one of the best decisions I've ever made." said Spencer before looking towards Olivia who was talking to his new female teammates or the wives of his subordinates while his children played with the kids of subordinates.

"Ready for our joint birthday party?" asked Emily.

Spencer nodded.

* * *

After "Happy Birthday" was sang, Spencer and Emily looked at each other before they blew out the candles together.

"What did you wish for, daddy?" asked Piper.

Spencer looked at his oldest daughter as he thought about Piper being conceived six years ago on his 30th birthday.

"For many more happy and healthy years to come." said Spencer.

 **~The End~**

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you everyone who had followed, favorited, and reviewed for my Love Takes Away the Pain Series from the beginning to this final chapter. Please be on the look out for updates on my Missing Scenes From Love Takes Away the Pain that will include missing scene from Love Takes Away the Pain: Book One, Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Two, Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Three, and this story._


	44. I'm Back!

I posted a new story for this universe! So please check out Love Takes Away the Pain: Book Five which deals with Believer and 300!


End file.
